Persona 5ReduX
by Shakalos123
Summary: basically a New game /retelling of Persona 5. Join Akira Amamiya-Kurusu as he journeys forth with a god like being for a partner, a talking cat, and many friends as they venture into the void. the story's better than this summary. warning, some Mature themes ahead with swearing, sexual themes, violence and more, so don't read if you don't think you can handle it.
1. Chapter 0: prologue

**Okay, this is getting crazy…**

**Not even gonna bother with the summary. Here's the rundown: This is essentially the game retold with some MAJOR changes, including more palaces/bosses, more stuff to enjoy, etc. here are some highlights so far.**

**The Phantom thieves will have a slightly bigger team, with Mishima, Shiho and surprisingly Sojiro, the other confidants and a few more people being apart of it. (I only have Mishima's thing planned out though so go nuts on speculation, more on that later.)**

**Because the second I post this, everyone will be up in each other's throats with that "best waifu" and "shipping hell" crap, I'm going to list the pairings here. AkiraXharem (duh), RyujiXHifumi (I read a fanfic that made me like this ship), Minor FutabaXYusuke, and other stuff.**

**Things will take some dark turns, but try to stay along the story. I'm getting pretty annoyed at how most of the good fics kinda end up on hiatus after 20 or so chapters on kamoshida's arc, so I'm keeping things somewhat fast.**

**There will be elements from the following: Rise of the TMNT, the Gamer AU, God of War, and a few extra stuff i'm too lazy to add at the moment.**

**There will be extra content as well… not spoiling on that though… only that everything will take place in a whole year's timeline instead of six months because of OBVIOUS reasons.**

**I'm going to put this up on Wattpad, mainly because I can place pictures on there to help out with the story (as well as put my art up on the stories). And maybe post this on as well. **

**Enough of this… the story begins now.**

* * *

_This is a work of fiction_

_All of the characters, ideologies, and phenomenons are doubtlessly unrelated to those in real life..._

_Only those who agree with the statement above will be given the right to participate in the game…_

…_._

_...I see…_

_The world these days is unable to maintain its ideal form anymore. It is full of distortions and it will certainly collide…_

_People who are eager to reform the world and resist their fates…are sometimes called "tricksters"..._

_Thou, trickster…now it's time for you to step forward and face the abyss of the distortions.._.

* * *

_~Hey… Hey bud. Wake up!~_

Slowly rising, the person in question opened his eyes slightly. The first thing he sees is a boy, not older than him, floating… yes floating beside him, with a look of concern on his face. The boy consisted of a Dark violet jacket and black shorts with matching loafers, with the more prominent features being the double irises in his eyes, the silver hair, and the long thin tail waving around his back. For some reason the boy couldn't find why… he felt something calming despite the situation he was in... like he knew he could trust the floating boy.

_~You okay man? They fucked you up pretty badly?~ _the boy asked. _~Akira… you've gotta stay with me here. I'll help you get through this.~_

Akira, that boy mentioned, slowly nodded, ignoring the sting of pain dancing along his battered and bruised body.

_~Now, you might not remember this… or anything for that matter… but they drugged you. So you'll probably have a hard time recalling anything. Thankfully, I'm not drugged, so I'll help you through.~_

Nodding again, the boy looked at the door, which started to open.

_~oh, and one more thing… only __**you**__ can hear and see me right now, so don't bring attention to me. That'll make things harder to get you out.~_

A final nod was his answer as a silver haired woman entered the room with what seems to be a binder.

"So… it was you, Akira Amamiya-Kurusu." the woman started, "To think that you were the leaders of the phantom thieves… no matter."

"..."

"I'm only here because you've helped both me and my sister in the past… and I… may have taken things too far before. I know this is hard for you… but…"

_~this bitch again… stay wary of this lady, Kira. she's part of the reason you're here...~_

"...nevermind. Do you remember who I am?" a shake of his head made her sigh in slight frustration. "What the hell did they do to you... I am Sae Nijima, your prosecutor."

A slow nod ushered her to continue. "Now look, I care for you, okay?"

_~could've fooled me…~_

"And I can help you out. As long as you tell me everything, completely honest with no lies or tricks this time, then I'll do what I can to lighten your sentence."

_~Heh, that's more of an Ultimatum than a proposal.~_

"Look, I have 3 hours to get the answers I need, so we'll have to keep things quick. Start from when this all began… What exactly happened?

"...You wouldn't understand." he finally answered.

"Then make me understand. I want to help you."

_~bullshit.~_

"And to do that, I need your cooperation."

A few seconds of silence echoed through the room, until Akira finally sighed as he nodded.

_~Alright Kira, let's start the plan. It started on January~ _

"...It all started on…"

* * *

_You're a slave_

_a "destined slave" whose future is already sealed_

_this is an extremely unreasonable game…and you have almost no chance to win…_

_however, if you can hear my voice, then there's still some hope left…_

…_please. Win this game…and save the world._

_The key to reversing your fate is the bonds from your memory…_

_the revived truth you grasped with your friends…_

_everything began half a year ago…the day when this game started…_

_please, recall your memories…for the future of the world…and for yourself_

_10 months ago…_

_January 9th_

* * *

_*Thank you for using this line today. We will soon arrive at Shibuya, Shibuya. This is the last stop. Please transfer at this station if you would like to use the subway lines* _

The moving train in which Akira Amamiya-Kurusu boarded in slowed to a halt as the passengers inside flowed out of the machine's the constant stuttering whispers from the pedestrians around him, He fished out his phone, looking at the time on the device.

_~Hey, Kira, where are we again?~_ a voice in his head asked. _~we were supposed to head to this "LeBlanc" place right?~_

"Yeah. I know, we're close by it Arata." the boy answered not even looking at the pale floating boy to his side. Perhaps I should explain… well, long story short, 5 years ago, a 12 year old Akira found a black heart shaped gem in his hometown, and broke it accidentally. This lead to the revelation that the gem was in fact a seal for a slumbering god-like spirit, and upon breaking it, the god thanked the male by forming what was called a Soul Pact, a contract far stronger than the strongest of blood oaths. Afterwards, the god like being, Arata, served as Akira's shadow, partner, and guardian whilst providing the male powers beyond mortal comprehension since.

_~alrighty then, lets-~_

"Hey, what's this app?"

_~huh?~_ the newly christened Arata mumbled, looking at the phone in the male's hand. A weird and unsettling looking app in the image of an eye took up most of the screen. _~i don't like the looks of this… but it feels oddly familiar.~_

"Familiar? Why does a creepy looking app give off a familiar feeling ..to… um.."

_~what?~_ Akira looks around the area and was starting to get worried as everything seemed to slow to a stop around him.

"What's going on?"

_~how should I know?~_

"You're the expert on this kind… of…" he trailed off, looking in front of him, which prompted Arata to do the same. Right in front of the two, was an exact replica of Akira, gazing with a sinister grin on his face as he suddenly bursts into azure flames.

Blinking a few times, Akira looked around to find that everything was in motion again and nothing seemed to catch on fire around him. "...weird. I may be more tired than I-"

_~HOLY CRAP!~_

"Huh!?" slightly jumping at the floating partner's yelp, he turned to him slightly. A panicked look etched on his face.

_~your stats! Where'd they go!?~_

"My stats? What happened to them?" he whispered.

_~looks like someone resetted them all!~_

"What!?" He shouts, gaining some unwanted attention in the process. "... let's get to Leblanc's first, this is starting to get tiring…and embarrassing."

_~yeah. You'd need some rest if I get trapped in your hallucination of all things.~_

"Let me see my stats."

_~sure thing.~_ a soft ping like noise rung in his ears as a black and red screen appeared in front of them.

**Akira R. Amamiya-Kurusu**

**Lv. 1**

**Hp: 210**

**Sp:200**

**Guts (Rnk 2): 5/10**

**Kind (Rnk 3): 2/10**

**Prof (Rnk 1): 0/10**

**Chrm (Rnk 3): 3/10**

**Intl (Rnk 2): 7/10**

"...FUCK!" he shouts as he sprints to the given directions he was told to go.

* * *

After an eventful two days of meeting his ward, a barista named Sojiro Sakura, cleaning up the pig sty he was given as a room, getting signed up into a highschool called Shujin Academy, and finally, finally freaking out with Arata over the stat reset, both Akira and Arata called it a night and softly slept in his makeshift bed (well, Arata floated above him, but whatever)

Opening his eyes, Akira immediately freaks out at the rather familiar looking place he found himself in.

_~Kira, calm down, you're not in juvie!~_ Arata shouts, taking the male's attention from his initial freakout.

"W-what?" he whimpered weakly.

_~this just __looks__ like a prison.~_

"Then why are my clothes like this!" he asks, gesturing to the prison garb he wore. "And why aren't you wearing this!?"

_~because I'm awesome. Now calm down. We're not alone…~_

Looking at the only open area in front of his… cell… stood a desk in the dead center of the room, an odd looking demon like man sitting in front of it with his unsettling cheshire grin.

"Welcome, trickster and friend, to the velvet room." the goblin man greets in a deep voice.

_~holy shit, that's his voice!?~_

"Shh!"

"I am Igor, resident of this place. And these two are my assistants." with a snap of his fingers, two more people entered the teen's view. The two appeared to be twin girls, no older than 10, wearing a warden themed ensemble with eye patches covering one side of their eye each. The only difference they could see were the hairstyles of the two, the one on the right had twin buns, while the other had hers in a braid. "To your right is Caroline, to your left, Justine."

"You'd have better got it memorized, Inmates!" the girl on the right, Caroline, hissed.

"Our job is to aid you on your quest." the girl on the left, Justine, continued in a monotone voice.

_~Aww… you two are just so cute! I just wanna pinch your heads off!~_ Arata cooed, proceeding to lightly pinch the two before Caroline smack him over the head with a baton she pulled out of nowhere._ ~AGH!~_

"Take us seriously!"

_~well someone's not getting a cookie…~_

" time is short, so I shall be brief. With your current progression, you are surely headed towards ruin."

"Ruin? What do you mean?"

"Your path will lead to disaster by the end, as well as the world. However, you possess the potential of changing such a fate. The only way out of this ruin is through a process called rehabilitation."

"What?"

_~rehab? Oh god, it is juvie all over again…~_

"To avoid such a fate, you must sign this contract." at the snap of his fingers, Justine handed the males a single board with a paper attached to it, alongside a pen to sign with. "That contract states that you must take full responsibility for your actions whilst your rehabilitation is in progress. Breaking this rule will end your rehabilitation and you must redo the procedure entirely, something you cannot afford to do with such a limited time... All I need for you to do is to sign to confirm your resolve."

_~you're not gonna take our souls, are you birdman?~_

"How dare you!" Caroline barked, smacking the cage in which both teens were in.

Chuckling at the events unfolding, Igor shook his head. "Nothing of the sort, you could say the exact opposite, but who really knows?"

Looking over the contract, Akira signed his name on the parchment, handing over the pen to Arata.

_~oh, fine. I'll sign it off as Fuckboy Jones!~_ he cheered, getting a smack in the face from Akira and gaping faces from the two lolis.  
"You are not doing that!"

_~alright, alright! Hmm… I got it! Horny McFucknugget!~_

"Are you serious right now!?"

_~Ha, I was just pissing you off. Alright then Aratakaja Beldirever… there.~_

Another snap of his fingers teleported the contract to Igor himself, his unsettling smile never fading in the least. "The night is waning, so I shall let you rest Trickster. We will meet again soon." Igor stated, before the world went black once more.

Now in a black void, the only two people left were Arata and Akira, the former seemed to be deep in thought.

"Arata? What's wrong?" Akira asked.

_~oh nothing just...something's… off.~_

"Off?"

_~I've been to that place before, and I know Igor, but...something's definitely wrong…~_

"...like?"

_~for one, unless the Birdman's balls finally dropped, I don't remember him having a voice that deep. And those two lolis we've met earlier… they feel… the best term for this would be incomplete…~_

"Hmm… well, you said that you were in the velvet room before right? Do you know what that means? if I'm in there as well i mean..."

_~the only time I've heard of others besides Igor and his attendants were….. Oh my god.~_

"What?"

_~this is… wow.~_

"What? What is it?"

_~... okay look, there's this thing called a Wild Card. __all I know is that it's very rare… however you're the first person I've interacted with with this power.~_

"Why? How do you know if you never witnessed it before?"

_~Igor had other attendants before Loli one and two back then, I mainly heard about it from them… now that you mention it… Where were Marg, Liz and Theo?~_

"Who?"

_~the other attendants… we've only seen the three so far…~_

"Well, let's not worry about that for now."

_~right.~_

* * *

_Monday, January 11_

_Rainy_

_Shujin Academy_

_morning_

Walking in the morning sprinkle, Akira strolled down the streets of the bustling city, Arata lazily floating behind him. After a brief discussion over a curry breakfast from Sojiro, another brief talk with this Blonde chick, and some creep taking her to school in his car, the two sighed at the morning they're having, not noticing the blonde male behind them.

"Hey newbie!" the male shouts, startling both males at the close proximity of the voice. Turning around, they became face to face with a male not much older than them with blonde, spiky hair and what appears to be the exact same uniform Akira was wearing. "Aw man, I was too late Dammit!"

"Oh hello…"  
"Screw that pervy teacher…"

_~pervy? So when he asked you for a ride, was he coming-~_ Arata stopped when he heard a soft ping from somewhere.

"So what about you, huh? Come to rat me out to that Shitlord?"

"I literally just got here. I don't even know you, let alone rat you out for… something?"

"... foreal? You serious?"

"Uh… yeah?"

"You don't know that guy? Suguru Kamoshida?"

"Was he the creepy guy in the car?"

"... oh god, you really don't know… wait… right, the transfer!" the blonde boy cheered up. "You're heading to Shujin academy right? I know a shortcut from here." another ping from somewhere, but Arata kept looking around for it.

_~what the…~_

"The Name's Ryuji by the way. Ryuji Sakamoto." the newly named Ryuji greeted.

"Akira Amamiya-Kurusu. I go by either Kira , Kirren or Ren."

"Alright. Nice to meet ya Kira. come on, I'll show you the way." Ryuji stated, walking ahead with the partners in tow. As time went on, Ryuji informed both of them about the ongoing rumors going on in the school, which lead to Ryuji ranting on about Kamoshida again.

"That Bastard really pisses me the eff off."

_~eff? You're cursing like a sailor and you say eff?~_

"Just who the hell does he think he is, some king of a castle or something? That'd be a really shitty castle if that's the case."

A third ping sounded off, but this time a voice followed suit, leading Arata to Akira's phone as it softly vibrated.

_*Destination found, beginning navigation*_

A wave of dizziness flowed to the two males, Arata not being affected, but they merely shrugged it off and continued forward.

* * *

"...uh…"

"What the hell?" Ryuji proclaimed.

_~huh…~_ Arata moaned.

After a few minutes of walking through alleyways, the three eventually made it to their destination. The problem however, was that instead of the school they were supposed to see, in its place stood a castle, a rather weird looking one at that.

_~well ain't this just a kerfuckle?~_ Arata complained.

"Hey, watch yo- Wh-what the hell!?" Ryuji said, jumping at the sight of Arata floating beside him.

_~...what's Ryuji jumping around for now?~_

"Who are you? Why are you floating and how do you know my name!?" Ryuji replied, his disbelief stacking on top of his panic.

_~huh? Yo Kira, who's he talking to?~_

"I'm talking about you!" he answers, pointing to Arata, who suddenly gets a look of surprise on his face.

_~...you...can see me?~_

"Hell yeah I can see you! Were you stalking us or something!?"

"Calm down Ryuji, he's a friend of mine." Akira answered this time, attempting to calm him down. "His name is Arata, he's… a special friend you see. Only I can interact with him…"

_~until now that is… Hey Kira, look at your phone.~_

"Huh, why?" he asked, fishing out his phone as instructed, looking like he got bitch slapped. Akira looked on at the red and Black eye flashing on the entirety of the screen.

_~that app again?~_

"Hey Kira… Arata… I think I got it too." Ryuji said, showing the same thing on his phone.

"What?"

"HALT!" a new voice bellowed, startling all three of them, turning around, they say a few knights with what looked like poorly made masks covering their faces instead of helmets.

"Who the hell are these guys?" Ryuji questioned. Looking back, Akira and Arata were back to back as the three were surrounded by six to eight of the knights

_~...Aw shit.~_

_~what is it with people and locking us up in cages!?~_ Arata groaned. The three were now in some sort of prison cell.

"Whoa man! Is this for real!?" Ryuji yelled out, full blown panic in his voice. "Let us out man!"

_~Kira's stats are reset, I don't know about you, and I don't think I can last long if they send millions of them at me by myself…~_

"Stats?"

"Silence peasants!" a new yet familiar voice yelled back, a new person appearing before them… which lead to Akira and Ryuji looking in horror and disgust while Arata screamed and attempted to claw his face at the sight. In front of them was the very same man who tried to get Akira into the car with him, the same man Ryuji hated, the very Kamoshida… wearing nothing but cape and a pink speedo.

_~My eyes! I'M BLIND!~_ Arata screamed hysterically

"Kamoshida!?"

"gross ."

"I don't have to take that from plebeian shits like you!"

_~They're BLEEDING!~_

"Just what the hell's going on!?"

"I'll tell you what's going on! You're going to be executed!"

"What!?"

"Huh!?"

_~Oh Why does my eyes forsake me so!~_

"Alright, shut this bitch up, then start with the blonde one." Kamoshida ordered, several knights opening the cage as they piled in.

_~the fuck'd you call me- Bagaha!~_ He shouts before getting dog-piled by a few Knights, a few knights held Ryuji by the throat as others restrained Akira.

"Now be sure to kill him slowly." Kamoshida chuckled. "I love to watch them writhe in agony before they die!"

"No!" Akira shouts, but was held back again.

_~Get the fuck off me!~_ Arata roared before several more joined the pile. Akira watched in horror as one of the knights raised one of their swords near Ryuji's throat. All of a sudden, everything seemed to slow down to a halt again, this time it dimmed into a darker realm. A rather soothing voice echoed through his mind.

_This is truly and unjust game…_

_Your chances of winning are almost none…_

_But, if you can hear my voice…_

_There may yet be a possibility for you…_

A rather elegant looking butterfly fluttered around him in a mystical trance, landing upon his face. Then a darker, deeper voice echoed in his mind.

_**~indeed, this is an unjust game, isn't it? No matter how hard you try, you're always forced to submit. Thine heart burns with a righteous fury, but under the influence of the world snuffed to embers. Tell me, are thou going to let this stand? Are thou going to give up?~**_

"No… Hell NO!" Akira shouts, repeating this over and over with more emotion in each verse.

_**~That's All I needed to hear!~**_ the voice cackled. _**~an admirable resolve indeed. Well then, Vow to me! I am Thou, Thou art I, Thou who art willing to perform such sacrilegious acts for thine own justice, call upon my name and unleash thy rage! Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to hell itself!~**_

"RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHH!" Akira roared, the butterfly bursts into flames on his face, the blue inferno enveloped him until it revealed a black and white mask adorning his face. The sudden burst of power seemed to send him back to the real world, however, as the guards holding him were blown back into Ryuji's guards, freeing him and shocking Kamoshida.

"What the hell!?" the speedo wearing weirdo whimpered, looking in fear at the mask wearing male.

Feeling his face and discovering the mask, Akira began to tear the attachment off his face, his face bleeding heavily as ripping flesh was heard. Finally ripping the thing off, the male was engulfed in azure flames once again, this time cackling as the blaze took over him. The cackling got deeper and more sinister as the flames enlarged, revealing what scared both Ryuji and Kamoshida.

The being looked like a cross between a butler and a demon, with a blood red tuxedo like body and Black top-hat, along with the demonic looking claws, obsidian colored chains and black wings, the scariest feature was its face as it held eyes that screamed death and carnage as it gazed on the other occupants in the room.

The flames died down after the demon thing's reveal, revealing Akira grinning maniacally, his own changes visible as well. Instead of the student uniform he wore before he now wore a black suit with leather armor, a black tailcoat and crimson gloves completing the look.

_~Hell Yeah!~_ Arata yelled from the pile he was under. _~Hey Kira, a little help please.~_

_**~Attack! Destroy them all! Let thy rage to your heart's content!~**_ the demonic entity roared.

"Ravage them, Arsene!" Akira shouts, swinging one of the many chains at the guards. The now dubbed Arsene cackled as he shot out black and red beams of energy towards the group, not only taking out most of the guards, but freeing Arata as well.

_~alright, now it's my turn!~_ Arata roared. _~this is for dogpiling on me, you shits! Eiha!_~ shooting out his hands, beams of dark energy blasted forth, killing all but one guard and Kamoshida, who was to paralyzed with fear at the sight before him to do anything.

Looking at the last guard, both nodded before repeating their last attacks on the remaining guard, killing it. Looking at the scene before them, Arata grabbed Ryuji and Akira and bolted out the cell, closing and locking Kamoshida in, who just regained his bearings afterwards.

"What the hell! Get me out of here." the king yelled.

_~let's go before more of those guys arrive, i do not want to get in another dogpile anytime soon.~_

"Right."

"Hang on, I have SEVERAL questions!"

"Later Ryuji!"

"Hey wait!" and with that, the three ran ahead, leaving king speedo-man behind.

* * *

After several minutes explaining Arata's power, as well as wondering about the power Akira's acquired and helping a talking cat thing named Morgana, the group of four (yes, Morgana joined) were running around the area. well , it'd be that simple if Ryuji and Morgana would stop bitching at each other every two seconds.

"HALT!" a guard said in front of them. Arata and Akira automatically stood in front of the group, surprisingly, Morgana did also.

"Arsene!" Akira shouted, summoning the demonic butler being once again, which surprised Morgana of all things.

"You have a Persona too!?" the cat being exclaimed. "Then that makes things easier!"

"Right. Arata, I need a boost!"

_~got it. Haste! Charge!~ _Arata shouts, a red clock and wand looking runes orbited around Akira foe a few seconds before disappearing.

"Eiga!" He shouts, Arsene shooting several oversized beams of darkness at the enemy, killing the thing in one shot.

"Not bad! Very impressive!" Morgana said, noticing another guard sneaking up on them. "But let me show you how a pro handles it! Zorro!" he shouts, a flash of light and a new entity emerged behind the cat. This time, it looked more like a spanish fencer with a small lower body. Zorro then proceeded to swing his rapier at the target, blasts of wind knocking down the shadow and dazing the thing, which led to Morgana pulling out a scimitar that's as big as he was and cutting the being in half, killing it as well.

_~not bad ninja kitty~_

"I'm not a cat!"

_**~could've fooled me, cat.~**_ Arsene replied.

_~please don't insult my user like that.~_ the new person of the group, Zorro, continued.

"Alright, the exit's in this room right here!" Morgana stated, opening the door, revealing to the group… a standard looking room.

"What the Hell?!" Ryuji shouts in disbelief. "What gives cat were you lying to us this whole time?"

"Wow, those cliches about blondes being dumb are true."

"What was that!?"

"Look around you idiot! Use that monkey brain of yours for a second."

"The air vent?" Akira asked, pointing to the large opening to the side.

"At least someone's got smarts. Yeah, that's your exit."

"Oh… sweet. Sorry bout that cat."

"I'm not a cat!"

"If you insist you're not one, then what are you?"

"I'm a Human, an honest to god human!"

"Bullshit."

"You wanna go you damn dirty monkey!"

"Who're you calling a monkey you shitty fleabag!"

_~this is gonna be a thing isn't it…~_

* * *

After another short argument, and Morgana explaining a bit on whatever the fuck is wrong with this place, the two (three), reentered the real world, only for the fiasco to not stop there.

After getting in trouble on account of being late for hours, an excuse thrown around or two, and surviving the day of rumors and spiteful teachers, Akira and Arata return to Leblanc's to turn in for the night. The warning/scolding from Sojiro didn't help much though.

That night, the two drifted off into slumber again, and once again, they wake up in a different place entirely, but this time was drastically different. Unlike the prison cell they were expecting, they encountered a simple room of a deep blue, two other people sitting on one of the few pieces of furniture in the place.

Akira had a look of confusion at the new setting. This wasn't the same person he met before, but this presence was somewhat more calming and comfortable. Looking at Arata, he was surprised when the boy beside him had a look of excitement, relief, and awe at the individuals sitting before them.

"Greetings Trickster and Reaper, I am pleased to finally meet you." the first person, a man in a black shirt and tie, a white blazer and pants and black dress shoes, greeted. "We have much to discuss."

_~that we do...~_ Arata answered, a cheeky grin adorned on his face. _~nice to see ya again….. Philemon."_

* * *

**And that's the Prologue done. Like I said, there will be extra content, and the pacing will be both moderately fast, but enough for a good read.**

**More on things… I kinda lied a tiny bit in the A/N above. The Phantom thieves will be somewhat large. Here are the names of the people I'm adding to the group, but keep in mind that this isn't the final list, just the basis:**

**Guaranteed-**

**Mishima (i've already got a persona and thing in mind for him.)**

**Shiho**

**Kawakami**

**Sojiro**

**Natsu (oc)**

**Yuki (oc)**

**? and ? (you'll see later on)**

**Sort of (debating)- **

**Tae**

**Sae**

**Yoshida**

**Shinya**

**Iwai**

**Hifumi**

**Chihaya**

**Ohya**

**? (oc)**

**Keep in mind that at the moment, I've only made Mishima's story and persona to match the plot i'm making, which will be revealed next chapter. That being said, I'm all up for having you guys give me ideas for the rest of them. Just a solid set of rules first though:**

**1\. No persona from their respective Arcana in the specific game. It's fine if it's from another persona game, but the more original the choice the better. **

**2\. Give me a reason as to why this should be it. If it doesn't match the specific character, then give me something interesting to help me out with the details. I can't spend all my time focusing on making up their reasons for their awakening. **

**3\. Be somewhat serious with your choice. I made that first rule because someone might put in Mara as a choice, and I want interesting, not cringy poop quality humor.**

**That being said. I'll talk more later on in the next chapter.**

**TBC.**


	2. Chapter 1: Hoist the flag

**Okay, so Chapter 1 is going on now.**

**Few things to say for this point. First, yes, Philemon is in here, and he has lots to say on the matter at hand...kinda, so be prepared for that. However, I might need help for him since i might not be able to write him properly.**

**Second, I'm implementing a type system that's basically like previous series in the franchise and pokemon types(but not really), with the types being Fire, Snow, Nature, Sky, Psycho, Nuke, Pys(Physical), Gun, Bless, Curse, Almighty, Soul (Healing/status buffs/ailments) and Void. more on that in a bit. I'm looking over every move in there to see if I can make some new ones and align them to the aforementioned type system.**

**Third, I MIGHT consider applying Aus and crossovers with other persona ideas. I like that Adult Confidant Au where the adults are teens and persona users (don't know Scruffyturtles will approve though) but I'd like their permission if possible before implementing their AU in this.**

**Fourth, I plan on each arc having no more than 10 Chapters. I would have less, but i'm factoring in the new members and the extra content into the story, so for now, Kamoshida's arc will be about 6-9 chapters long and Madarame's shortly after. Like I said, keeping them semi fast, but also keeping in the main highlights.**

**I took to much of your time, let's go to the chapter already.**

* * *

_~you have no Idea how long I've been wanting to see you Phil~ _Arata sighed

"Same to you, Reaper. Though I do believe you have questions of your own…"

_~Yeah I've got questions! First off, where the hell were you man!~_ Arata shouted out. _~I got sealed away by whatever the hell that thing was back then, and I couldn't find you at all before and after.~_

"Arata."

_~then I find out that Igor's balls dropped or something and everything feels… wrong… what the heck happened?~_

"Arata please." Akira chided, but turned to a chuckling Philemon.

"It is alright Tricker. As for your questions. I'm afraid the answers you seek are… rather unfortunate."

_~...~_

"But before we discuss such events, allow me to bring in another guest." with a soft clap, a gust of wind flowed throughout the room, an old looking butterfly, wings torn and damaged body, fluttered weakly along the wind, onto Philemon's hand. Surprisingly, a rather familiar voice echoed through the room seconds afterwards.

"I humbly beg for forgiveness Master Philemon." the voice chimed wearily. "My assistant and I have failed at our task, and she was taken hostage as I was sealed away."

_~wait… I know that voice!~_ Arata exclaimed in disbelief. _~Igor!?~_

"Greetings Reaper, and to you as well Trickster... I apologize for my rather unbecoming form."

_~Igor what the hell happened to you?~_

"from what I have gathered," Philemon continued, "the very same being, to which I labeled as Demiurge, who sealed you away was also responsible for Igor's current form."

"What?"

_~WHAT!?~_

"This Demiurge, a false god of order, has taken things too far out of line, he opted to play a game in which he has bent the rules to his favor. Even with the current power you possess, He will surely win in the end."

"...crap."

"However…" Philemon continued, "This act has reach the interest of beings far superior to even Igor and I. This Demiurge, a twisted being created by the warped desires of order and peace, strives on fulfilling what it was made for, at the cost of morality and freedom. this that has angered Nyx immensely."

_~oh no… Nyx is in on this?~_

"I'm afraid so, Reaper." Igor replied. "And while she sides with us, it is truly as terrifying as it sounds. And she isn't the only one troubled by this predicament..."

"Psst, Arata? Who's Nyx?" Akira whispered in the boy's ear.

_~Goddess of night, Mother of several gods, basically death if it was a woman, ally to humanity… kinda, and pretty much one of the few who can actually kill my ass if she was feeling up to it.~_

"..." the tenager gulped, already picturing an all powerful deity glaring holes into his soul.

"Anyways, I have decided to offer up my services once more since my power has been fully restored just recently."

_~...how did-~_

"Demiurge, Reaper. He wanted no obstacles in his progress, and I was obviously one of the biggest. Fortunately, he underestimated my power, so my only repercussion was a portion of my power being sealed away."

"This being goes by the name of Yaldabaoth, and he has already set the key players into motion in this game of his." Igor said. "He has created two powerful champions, one to serve his goal, and one who opposes, and has given them each the power of the Wild Card."

"Wait… so I'm…" Akira didn't even have to finish before Philemon nodded grimly.

"I'm afraid so, Trickster; Your are the champion who was chosen to oppose the Demiurge. He has even attempted to handicap you. I assume you are painfully aware of the atrocity you suffered through, correct?"

"Atrocity? Wha…" he stopped, sporting a grim look on his face. "oh, my probation…"

"Indeed. The Demiurge has staged the whole event, from Masayoshi Shido to the trial, hoping it would gravely affect you negatively."

_~so that Yabadaba dingus pulled that stunt on purpose, just so he could get an easy win?~_

"Correct." Philemon confirmed. "However, this may be used to our advantage."

_~how so old man?~_

"Really?"

"As I have said before, I wish to aid you on your quest. The power of the Wild Card is a very unpredictable power, something the demiurge must have not known. The Wild Cards primarily challenges and changes fate, not serve it. You particularly have an extraordinary amount of potential. And with a trusted friend like Arata at your side, this game can be won, even with the odds against you."

"The Demiurge has cheated already, so by all means, we shall cheat as well." Igor spoke, fluttering onto the desktop. With a snap of Philemon's fingers, a black key attached to a Blue chain appeared beside the butterfly. "This key will give you access to this place, for it will aid you on your quest immensely."

"Alright. Thanks!" Akira thanked, nodding gratefully as the key disappeared.

"I have also prepared a guide to aid you but…"

_~but what?~_

"**He** attacked. I was able to send my creation out of my Velvet room before the battle, but I do not know if he survived. If he did, then he will most likely be affected by the sudden event.

"What's the guide's name?"

"I have named him Morgana-" Igor stated, in which both boys coughed and sputtered in shock at the news. "Judging from your reactions, you might have already met him."

"Unfortunately…" as if on cue, a soft ringing of bells echoed throughout the room. Philemon sighed. "We will have to continue this discussion on a later date. The key will already be in your room when you awaken, and be sure to listen to Morgan's proposal. It may even be beneficial to you."

"Till we meet again." Igor finished, as the two males faded away into the void.

* * *

_Tuesday, January 12th_

_Cloudy_

_Leblanc's_

_Early morning_

Waking up well rested, Akira, looked around the room he was in, a black key dangling on the chain by the deck it was hanging on in front of his bed. "So… this is gonna be a crazy journey huh Arata?"

_~Yep! This'll certainly be… fun to say the least.~_

_**~I agree.~**_ Arsene joined in, startling the two at the presence of the gentleman thief.

"Um… Arsene? How are you-"

_**~you have this… soul pact as you call it… between the two of you to thank. Your power is exponentially immense with the powers of a god beside you.~**_

_~oh yeah…~_

_**~I am honored to share my power to both my chosen and the god of potential. I shall aid you whenever i can.~**_

"Right…" Akira said, grabbing the key. After a long awkward silence of Akira getting dressed, the three people headed for school, this time they made it on time with Ryuji being not too far behind them.

"Oh god… I made it." he wheezed, ready to topple over. "I think i'm gonna throw up."

_~not on us please.~_

"Nah… just give me a- WHOA!" Ryuji yelped, looking at the floating boy beside Akira. "You were actually real!?"

_~Of course I… wait….~_

"You can see him now?" Akira asked for him, to which Ryuji nodded slowly.

_~well this is… unexpected..~_

"Uh… "

_~please don't yell at me, people will think you've gone insane or something.~_

"Let's change the subject." Akira announced, getting sighs from the two other people.

"Cool." Ryuji sighed in relief. "I was actually wanting to talk to you about that other place… that cat thing called it a palace right?"

"Yeah…"

"I was wondering if we could go back there."

_~why would you want to go back there of all places?~_

"Well hear me out." Ryuji started. "Remember those prisoners we saw on the way to the exit? I recognized some of them as volleyball team members."

_~they're fake though…~_

"Right, but that's what Kamoshita thinks of them right?"

_~nice nickname, but go on.~_

"If that's how he thinks of and treats them, like slaves and such, then there could be a chance that we can interrogate some truth out of them."

_~You lost me…~_

"Agh, look, just… I'll explain more at lunch okay!"

"Alright see you Ryuji." Akira nodded, Arata waved as the blonde nodded back, advancing towards the school. Just as they were about to go themselves, an auburn haired girl approached them seconds after Ryuji departed.

"So, you must be the new transfer student." the girl announced, gaining their attention.

_~who's this chick?~_

"Yes I am. I'm Akira, miss…."

"I'm Makoto, Makoto Nijima. It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

"Likewise…"

_~ask her why she's here.~_

"...Is there something you need me for?" Akira asked.

"I've seen you hanging around with Sakamoto lately…"

"...And?"

"I wanted to see if you were alright."

_~and what does THAT mean exactly?~_

"Sakamoto is known to the school as a delinquent, and with your track record and rumors floating around…"

_~EXCUSE ME!?~_

"I came here to warn you about hanging out with people like him. He's a bad influence, something that won't help you out in the long run."

_~Ryuji's a nice guy, You-~_

"I appreciate your concern, but Ryuji is a nice friend to have. A shame that people label him as such."

"But."

"At least he actually cared enough to not treat me as a criminal, unlike you, Ms. Nijima."

"Now hold on-"

"Now If you'll excuse me, I have classes i need to get to." Akira finished, walking away from the befuddled girl.

* * *

_Tuesday, January 12th_

_Cloudy_

_Shujin Academy_

_After school_

After lots and lots of boring lectures, throwing chalk back at the teacher who threw it at him, and lunch with Ryuji, school has finally, Finally ended for the day, and the group of three males were walking away from the building, swerving to an alleyway when nobody was looking.

"Alright, let's see if we can get some evidence!" Ryuji whooped.

_~you still haven't told us your master plan, ya dingus.~_

"Speaking of plans…" Akira said, looking at the key in his pocket seconds later.

"Oh, Right. Okay, so we go in, we talk to the prisoners he tortured, record the abuse the dickbag's been putting them through, and use that to get him arrested."

_~as much as I like the basis behind that, there are many holes in that plan of yours.~_

"And why is that!?"

_~well for one, your phone's won't work there. I've tried with Kira's and only that eye app thing works.~_

"Aw man."

_~and not only that, but we're the only ones with a way to defend ourselves… wait… I may have a solution for that…~_

"Then we'll make it a stealth mission." Akira chimes in, gaining both of their attention.

_~huh?~_

"What?"

"We go with Ryuji's plan for now, but we make sure that we stay out of sight the whole time, that way, we won't have to fight the whole time, and Ryuji won't be in danger." Akira explained.

"...dude that's perfect!" Ryuji shouts

_~eh, I'll go along with it… but I need you to help me with something when this is over Ryuji.~_

"Besides, we need to speak with Morgana anyway…" Akira said.

_~what fo- oooh.~_

"Well then, What are we waiting for then?" Ryuji proclaims, activating the red app on his phone.

_*beginning Navigation.*_

The same wave of dizziness flowed through the two students and the world distorted into a familiar castle from before.

"So it really was the school this whole time." Ryuji whistled. "Good to know… whoa man, what happened to your clothes?"

"Huh?" Looking down at himself, Akira stared in disbelief when he saw that he was in the same outfit from before.

_~hey it suits you doesn't it?~_

"Why are you three here again?" the familiar voice of Morgana startled the three. "The shadows are acting up and I had a feeling to come here, and look who I found."

"We have many questions to ask you, Morgana." Akira stated. "There's obviously a connection between the school and this place. We want to confirm it first."

"That's easy, this place _is_ the school. The ruler of this Palace believes he owns this place, so the Metaverse warped accordingly."

"Metaverse?"

"That's what this whole world is; a reality of everyone's desires. Those with severely distorted desires can form these palaces."

"Hey Cat, I have a plan that I wanna go over with you!" Ryuji wasted no time recovering to announce his plan, meanwhile Akira looked at the two bickering, deep in thought.

_~so, how are we gonna tell them about Phil and Igor?~_

"I was thinking about taking Ryuji and Morgana to them…"

_~that might work, but…~_

"Hey, Frizzy hair!" said cat in question yelled back, popping Akira out of his trance. "I've got a proposal I'd like for you to consider."

"What is it?"

"I'll help you guys out, and you two help me out with something I've been working on."

_~and why us?~_

"You have a persona, don't you? And you have access to magic… somehow..."

_~true.~_

"Very well, I'll only accept to hear you out first. I want to know more about what I'll be doing before fully accepting your deal."

"Fair enough."

"Awesome! Let's get to it then!" Ryuji whooped, Morgana leading them into the building.

* * *

A few rooms in and they already had to hide since there seemed to be more guards than before patrolling the interior. Evading them was simple and killing the few who did find them was easier, the hard part was the current set of guards blocking their route. Before the shadows, as Morgana kept calling them, saw the group, the team ran into a random room.

"Agh, so close yet so far…" Morgana growled. "Well, at least we found a safe room when we did."

"Safe...room?" Ryuji repeated.

"A place where the palace ruler has little influence in. this room has a lack of distortion, so his control of this room is weak.." just then, the room seemed to warp for a few seconds, revealing the room to be a vacant classroom.

"Huh… figures it'd be a classroom. That bastard can't do much here."

"My concern is how do we get those guards to move?" Morgana questioned.

"My concern is all over the place. I've still got questions to ask."

_~then why did you wait this long to ask?~_

"I wanted to ask in a safe place." Ryuji answered sheepishly. "So cat, what's the deal with his clothes? And could you explain a bit more on this… palace thing?"

"Well I can answer both; simply put, this world is the reason why his clothes are like this, and I thought I explained it to you last time!?"

"You're not making sense again cat."

"I'm not a cat!"

"Alright alright, just... continue."

"Anything distorts according to how the ruler pleases within their palace. To combat these distortions, one must have a strong will of rebellion. His suit's proof of that; a manifestation of his will."

"I don't think I got all of it…"

_~basically, this world's Kamoshida's true desires, the world he made is shaped to how he wants it to be, and Kira's suit is like a big Fuck off to the ruler of this place… did I get that right?~_

"More or less…" Morgana shrugged, "and it's more like armor. It protects you from the ruler's distortions."

"Hmm… I think I get it now..kinda…."

"So moving back to the task at hand… maybe we can make them move without fighting them." Akira suggested.

_~like what, scaring them?~_

"scare... Hey, I've got it!" Ryuji smirked, digging into his bag.

_~got what? A gu-~_ Arata stopped dumbfounded and the blonde student pulled out what looked like a handgun._ ~what the-~_

"Don't worry, it only makes sounds, but it looks real as hell." Ryuji explained. "We might be able to use this to make a distract-"

"Wait… you're a genius!" Morgana says smacking his lips seconds afterwards. "Ugh, that sounds weird…"

_~care to explain?~_

"Later on. Let's go see if they left yet." Morgana said, peeking out the door before opening it and gesturing them to follow.

After following a single shadow down a hidden pathway, the four now hid behind a corner near the corridor, a big door labeled "Training Hall" was at the end of the hallway.

_~okay, so what now?~_ Arata asks. _~the guard and his buddy are right there, do we kill it or…~_

"Take out the toy first." Morgana answered. "We'll use that."

"Huh? Why?" Ryuji asked, taking out the handgun model from earlier.

"Hand it over to Frizzy hair here."

"I have a name you know…" Akira chimed in. taking the gun.

"Now let's go!" Morgana shouts, ambushing the surprised shadows.

_~the cat's crazy!~_ Arata shouts, rushing in behind the feline with Akira and Ryuji close by.

"What the!" the guards shout, as they morphed into a fairy and a humanoid flower.

"You have the gun, right?" Morgana asked, taking out his scimitar. He continued when Akira nodded. "Then use it! Point it at a shadow and fire!"

Heeding the cat's instructions, Akira pointed it at the pixie, and was thoroughly surprised when an actual bullet fired off, knocking it down.

"Careful with your ammo. You only have a limited amount, so use it wisely."

"Right. Arsene! Cleave!" Akira agreed, pulling off his mask as Arsene appears before him and strikes the downed fairy, killing it.

"All right, I'll show you my weapon too!" Morgana shouts, pulling out a slingshot and striking the flower shadow multiple times. The flower thing responded by flailing at the cat, but Ryuji came it and bashed it in the face with a thrown barrel, knocking it down.

_~I got it.~_ Arata said, chopping it with his hand and killing it off as well.

"Thanks for the assist Ryuji." Akira said.

"No problem. I'm more hyped about the gun! Did that toy just shoot real freakin' bullets!?"

"This is the cognitive world." Morgana answered, "as long as they see it as real, then it works like its real. It helps that it's realistic-looking."

_~so we can bring toys here, and they'll work like the real thing if we believe in it?~_

"Pretty much."

"That's effin' awesome!"

"Anyways, we should divvy up our roles in battle from here on out. We need to converse our energy, so we'll need some form of coordination in our moves. I'll provide intel, Fri-"

_~Akira.~_ Arata corrected.

"-Akira, you should call the shots in battle."

"Alright. Let's move on." Akira announces, the group advancing forward.

* * *

"Alright, I think it's time I taught you guys something called an all out attack." Morgana says, gaining the three others attention.

"A what?" Akira asked.

_~what are you up to now?~_

"Just listen. See that guard? Let's fight them." he said, pointing to the lone guard in the corridor they entered. A few minutes, later, they ambushed the shadow, revealing another fairy like shadow.

"Listen, there's a flow to battle, and we can use that to our advantage." Morgana explains. "First, knock down all the enemies, that's a must in doing this."

"Hey, Kira, try using the gun again." Ryuji suggested, "i think it'll work like last time."

Shrugging, Akira whipped out the handgun and shot the lone fairy, making it fall to the ground.

"Now surround it and attack all at once!" Morgana said, with the other three running into position, flanking the fairy from all sides. A flurry of slices, gunshots, and strikes danced along the area, striking the beguiling girl shadow in every direction before killing her in a flashy finishing move.

"Okay, what was that flashy crap!" Ryuji yells.

"I told you, it's an All-out attack." Morgana answered, walking forward. "Knock them all down, and we can take them all out in one go."

"Yeah… that was over quick."

"Let's keep moving." Akira stated, following the short companion. With the other two joining them.

"I think I hear something behind this door." Ryuji shouts, running closed to the door to the training hall.

_~then open it then.~_

Opening the door, the four fighters, were shocked beyond disbelief at the immediate sight they're seeing. Countless people were being beaten into submission, others were running for their lives from a spiked roller, a few were hung and bludgeoned by softballs shot out like cannonballs, and more, the victims all wore the same tattered uniform, which barely covered their bruises at all.

"...What-" Akira said.

"-The-" Ryuji continued.

_~FUCK!?~_ Arata finished.

"What the hell is happening here!?" Ryuji shouts." Dammit! This is Bullshit!"

"Calm down, Monkey boy." Morgana hissed back. "They aren't real, you know this, and how many times do i have to tell you to keep your voice down!?"

"I know but.. This is beyond messed up! Come on." Ryuji said, studying some of the victims.

"...what are you doing?"

"Since our phones won't work, then we'll study the victims here, then, we talk to the real ones in reality." Ryuji explained. "These people are on the volleyball team, so we could get them to talk if we know who to go after."

"... huh, so there is a brain in there after all."

"Just shut up and help me study them! Hey Kira, I'll need you to write down some names for me."

* * *

After a few more minutes of memorizing some potential victims to interrogate, the four decided to leave the palace. They almost managed to make it out too, until they were ambushed near the entrance.

"What the hell!?" Ryuji shouts, dodging a sword swinging in front of him.

_~oh god not again.~_ Arata shouts, rolling away from another attempted dog-pile.

"We're surrounded!" Morgana shouts, counting around 20 shadows.

"You knaves again!?" Shadow Kamoshida scoffed, walking up to the four with a golden knight behind him. "To think you'd make the same mistake again, how hopeless can you be!?"

"Piss off, you bastard!" Ryuji shouts back. "I've studied all the victims you're abusing, and together, we'll send your sorry ass to jail!"

"Huh, so it's true when they say, `barking dogs don't bite!' Hah!" the speedo weirdo insulted. "How far has the star of the track team has fallen."

"The hell are you gettin' at!?"

"I'm talking about the "track traitor" who acted in violence and fucked up the whole teams' dreams. I can only imagine the pain of the others you dragged down from your … selfish act."

"Violence?" Akira asked, looking at Ryuji

_~what's this floozie talkin' about Sakamoto?~_

"You've never told them about your play in it? Shame on you." the man grinned maniacally. "He betrayed his whole team and crushed their hopes, and acts as if it never happened."

"BULLSHIT!" Ryuji screamed. "You were the one who did that!"

"Alas, I don't have time for you worms. Go, kill them all. Don't sully my castle with trash." Kamoshida ordered. The guards morphing into various creatures and advanced towards the four.

"We're surrounded!"

"Ryuji, get out of here!" Akira shouts, blocking a horned horse's attack.

"WHAT!? But-"

_~not the time, Sakamoto! Move your ass!~_ Arata shouts, shooting beams of darkness at two more shadows.

"I'm NOT leaving you guys!"

"GO!" they all yelled back, holding out as long as they can. Ryuji stepped back a few times when he saw several of the horses trekked towards him. _"no...NO. It can't end like this!"_ he thought. "I can't let you die here!"

"What a worthless piece of garbage, getting emotional, so quickly." shadow Kamoshida droned on. "How dare you raise your hand at me. Don't you remember my kindness when I coached your team?"

"That wasn't kindness, you just abused us, just like the volleyball team!"

"It was just an eyesore, just like that worthless coach. Only I'm the one who gets results around here. Had he not opposed me at all, then i would have settled with only breaking the star runner's leg."

"...what?" Ryuji whispered.

"Do I need to break your other leg too? All you have to do is ask."

"Dammit… i'm gonna lose everything again...? Not only can I not run anymore, but the track team's gone to because of this asshole…!"

"So that's why he hates Kamoshida…" Morgana whispered.

"Enough. I'll kill these three first, then you're next.

_~Ryuji!~ _Arata yelled back, only to get ran over by several horse shadows.

"Don't let him win!" Akira finished, also getting trampled soon after.

"... Your right." Ryuji announced, slowly rising up from the floor. "Everything I had was taken from me… by him… I'll never get'em back...But I won't lose anything else! I won't lose the closest thing I have to friends from the likes of you!"

"Still trying to act tough, huh!?"

"All this time… it was you who staged everything… you ruined everything on PURPOSE!" Ryuji shouts, walking forward to the shadow ruler.

"Someone shut this twerp up!"

"Stop Goddamn smirking at me you piece of SHIT!"

_**~you made me wait quite a while...you seek power, correct? Then let us form a pact...since your name's been disgraced already, why not hoist the flag and wreak havoc? The "other you" who exists within desires it so…~ **_a new voice, deep and smooth, entered his mind, forcing Ryuji to double over in pain, roaring._**~I am thou… thou art I… there's no turning back… the skull of rebellion is your flag henceforth!~**_ with a final roar, the blonde male bursts into azure flames, a metallic skull mask forming on his face. Ripping his mask off, he screamed an almighty roar, and the flames burst forth, knocking everyone back and even killing some of the shadows.

When the flames died down, Ryuji stood triumphantly, his attire changed drastically. Instead of his earlier uniform, in its stead was a biker like garb with silver bone shaped plates, red scarf, and yellow gloves. The being behind him was just as intimidating, taking on the appearance of a skeletal pirate riding a flying ship.

"W-w-what the hell!?" Shadow Kamoshida stuttered, taken aback.

"Aw hell yeah, Sup Captain!?" Ryuji laughed. "This effin' rocks! Now that I've got this power it's payback time!"

"Silence you knaves!" the golden knight shouts, morphing into a gigantic red knight on horseback.

"Rip their worlds asunder Captain Kidd!" Ryuji shouts, the pirate persona laughed as it shoots out of the cannon on its arm.

Powerful bolts of lightning blasted out from the cannon, one-shotting most of the horse shadows and stunning the red knight.

"Again! Blast them away! Zio!" Ryuji shouts.

"Arsene, follow up with Eiha!"

"Zorro! Garu!"

_~ Hama!~_

Four different elemental attacks burst forth, combining into one big wave of energy and overshadowing the red knight destroying it entirely.

"H-how the hell!?" Kamoshida whimpers lightly before composing himself.

"You're next Kamoshita! I ain't forgiving you at all, no matter how much you beg!"

"I told you shits that this is MY castle. Whatever i say goes. Seems like you still don't understand." as if on cue, a familiar blonde haired girl in a cat bikini walked up to the speedo wearing shadow, startling the other four.

_~hey, isn't that the blonde girl from the other day?~_

"Wh- Takamaki!?" Ryuji shouts in disbelief.

"Wow! What a Meow-velous looking hottie!" Morgana purred, drool leaking from his mouth.

_~Priorities Cat!~_

"Why the hell is she here!?"

"... something's off.." Akira added in.

"I don't have to answer to plebs like you. Guards!" the shadow king yelled, several more troops flooded the room.

_~time to go!~_

"Right. Let's get out while we still can!" Morgana added.

"But-"

"NOW monkey boy!"

As the four escape, the shadow king laughed at their retreating figures.

* * *

Now outside the palace, the four stopped running and took a much needed breather.

"What the hell!?" aaand there goes the peace while it lasted. "What happened to my clothes!?"

"It suits you." Akira compliments.

"Looks like they don't know our escape route… that's good to know." Morgana interrupted. "So.. about that favor…

_~remember Kira, Phil said we should at least hear him out…~_

"Simply put, I need your cooperation to steal something."

"Steal?" both Akira and Ryuji asked.

"Deep within the palace is a thing called a treasure. That treasure's the one thing that's keeping this place intact; it's the source of the palace ruler's distorted desires. I need you guys to help me steal it."

"...and what do we get outta this?" Ryuji questioned.

"Would forcing Kamoshida to confess his crimes be good enough?"

"WHAT!?"

"Keep it down monkey!" Morgana hissed. "That Treasure hold this and Kamoshida's desires in place, without it, Kamoshida is forced to grow a conscience. And all of the guilt from his misdeeds will come crashing down on him, forcing him to confess."

_~i don't wanna be a dick about this… but I sense a "but" in here somewhere…~_

"Well…"

"Well what?" Akira goaded.

"This is extremely delicate. People needs desires to live, the desire to eat, sleep, breath… if done wrong, then there's a chance it might kill him…."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! KILL!?" Ryuji interrupted. "I'm all down for making that dickbag suffer, but Killing…"

_**~and what's wrong with that?~**_ the familiar voice of Kidd echoed through their minds, the pirate materializing behind Ryuji. _**~after all he's put you through, killing him is a mercy at LEAST.~**_

_**~if it's murder that you're concerned about, then I'll volunteer.~ **_Arsene joined in, materializing behind Akira. _**~I'll chain him up, carve out his insides and feed the entrails to animals.~**_

_**~Ooh, I'll join in to, I'll shock the bastard til he's well done~**_

"Guys, can you maybe NOT talk about murder right now!? You're freakin me out!"

"...Morgana." Akira stated, gaining everyone's attention. "I'll give you my answer in a bit, but first, I want to take you guys somewhere."

"Where to?" both said.

Smirking, he pulled out the key he had earlier, silently thanking the gods that he still had it. "A little place called the velvet room."

* * *

**And that's all for now. Chapter 2 of 6-9 complete.**

**A few things I still forgot to mention… some of the characters will be a bit OOC, just a tiny bit, and will have some extra stuff exclusive to this , if you're wondering about the "stats" from the first chapter, then here's their stats:**

**Akira R. Amamiya-Kurusu**

**Lv. 6**

**Hp: 324**

**Sp:270**

**Ryuji Sakamoto**

**Lv.6**

**Hp: 339**

**Sp: 225**

**Morgana**

**Lv. 6**

**Hp: 310**

**Sp:321**

**Arata**

**Lv. ?**

**Hp:?**

**Sp?**

**As for the list of potential joiners of the PTs, here's the current list:**

**Guaranteed: Name (codename)**

**Mishima (Akuma)**

**Shiho **

**Sojiro (Kaiser)**

**Shiho**

**Kawakami**

**Natsu (oc)**

**Yuki (oc)**

**? and ? (both more ocs)**

**Hifumi**

**Sort of (debating)-**

**Tae**

**Sae**

**Yoshida**

**Shinya**

**Iwai**

**Chihaya**

**Ohya**

**? (oc)**

**I'm still missing a lot of stuff, but hopefully I can get them done by the time I can get to them. One more thing I'll say is that the order of the Pts joining will be a bit different from canon, so look out for that.**

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 2: Calm before Storm

**Next chapter Go!**

* * *

"Greetings Reaper and Trickster. I see you've brought guests with you this time." Philemon greeted.

_~hey Phil. Hey Igor.~_

"Pleasure's all mine. I'd like to introduce you to Ryuji and Morgana."

"Dude… who're these guys?" Ryuji questioned.

"And why doe that butterfly sound… familiar…" Morgana added.

"Ah, Morgana… I am glad to see you safe and sound, though I fear you may not remember who I am." Igor lamented solemnly "I wish to speak to you personally, if I may…" he fluttered to another area of the room, with Morgana following behind.

"While Igor talks with your guide, I have much to tell you upon this visit." Philemon continued, snapping his fingers and a book appearing on the desk in front of him. "The first of what I shall be discussing with you will be an ability called Social Links. This is how we will combat the Demiurge."

"...demi...urge?"

"Ah… it appears that Chariot does not know about your… predicament."

_~yeah, sorry about that Phil. We just brought them here.~_

"It is fine. I shall provide an abridged explanation then. The Demiurge, a false god, has created a game of sorts, rigged to his favor. And Trickster here is needed to win for the sake of humanity, or else, everyone will suffer."

_~...wow, I didn't know you can be blunt…~_

"So… Kira's being used in a game with a god who's cheating to win?" Ryuji clarified.

"Not used, forced. Sadly Trickster has no say in the matter, which is why Igor and I shall aid him in this game, as well as Reaper."

"Reaper?"

_~sup.~_

"In fact, I was about to discuss the method we'll use to defeat the demiurge, and you're a key component to it, Chariot." opening the book, Philemon settled on a page with a picture of Ryuji over a Chariot Tarot card. "Your bond just needs a slight nudge left to form what we call a Confidant, or Social Link if you will."

_~these bonds will empower both you and Kira, along with anyone else who makes one, strengthening both you and the persona accordingly.~_

"Correct. The stronger the bonds Trickster makes, the stronger you become."

"That's actually pretty useful." Akira smirked.

"Hang on… Trickster? Reaper? Why is he callin' you guys that? And why am I Chariot!?"

_~like Phil said, give your bond a nudge, and it'll be explained. And that's what he always calls us.~_

"Right… well, I may not be the smartest guy here… but think I get the gist of it... I know damn well i ain't just gonna sit back and let you get toyed around like this."

"Ryuji…" Akira trailed off.

"Hell, you helped me out back there, I'd at least gotta pay you back for that, and besides… you're the closest i've ever had… to a friend before…"

_~aww… Sakamoto's a softy.~_

"Cut it out man, don't make this weird!"

"A friend… well, I can't say no to that." just then, a warm feeling overtook the two as a soft feminine voice echoed in their ears.

_I am Thou, Thou art I…_

_Thou hast acquired a new __**vow**__…_

_It shall become the __**wings**__ of rebellion_

_that __**breaketh**__ thy chains of captivity…_

_With the **birth** of the Chariot Arcana, _

_I have obtained the winds of __**blessing**__ that_

_Shall lead to __**freedom**__ and a new power…_

The very page with Ryuji and the Chariot cards, glowed white before dissolving completely, now gaining text and pictures. Looking at the page, Akira found that it explains Ryuji in general, as well as a bio and an odd chariot shaped rune on the back page.

"And here is the first Confidant of your journey." Philemon commented. "The Chariot stands for victory, conquest, and courage. Reaper, I do believe this is where you come in."

"Huh?"

_~yeah, yeah, I know. Come here Ryuji.~_ Arata answered, grabbing Ryuji's hand and placing one of his on his chest.

_~I am Thou… Thou Art I…_

_I grant thou the __**key**__ of thy soul…_

_Thy__** potential**__ shall bring forth a new power…_

_I grant thou the reigns of the __**Chariot**__, _

_to which thou shall __**lead**__ others to victory…~_

A gold veil of light shone around Ryuji's body, sparks of electricity danced across his hands. When the light faded, Ryuji blinks several times as he looks down at the electricity coursing through him.

"WHOA! What the hell happened to me!?" Ryuji exclaimed excitedly. "This feels freakin' amazing!"

_~I have unlocked a portion of your true potential. congrats, kid, you now have access to magic yourself. I'll have to train you how to use it though.~_

"Magic? You mean I can cast magic myself?"

_~specifically lightning magic, and you're more of a physical fighter..., but pretty much. You have Kira to thank for that.~_

"Awesome! I'll be able to help out twice as much now!"

"Are you done shouting your lungs out?" Morgana said rejoining the group with Igor beside him.

"So… Igor told you?" Akira asked.

"...yeah."

"And you're okay with it?"

"Of course I am." Morgana answered. "I may not be a human, or cat, but at least I know who I am now. That's all I've ever wanted. And if it means saving the world, then I'll do what I can to help!"

"And I'll readily accept it." the same warm feeling washed over both Akira and Morgana, the same feminine voice called once more.

_I am Thou, Thou art I…_

_Thou hast __**acquired**__ a new vow…_

_It shall __**become**__ the wings of rebellion_

_that __**breaketh**__ thy chains of captivity…_

_With the __**birth**__ of the Magician Arcana, _

_I have __**obtained**__ the winds of blessing that_

_Shall lead to freedom and a __**new**__ power_

A light appeared on another page of the book on the desk, showing Morgana's picture, some text, and a magician shaped rune on the same spot on the back.

_~alright, two for one. Come here cat.~ _Arata said, picking up the guide in his hands.

_~I am Thou… Thou art I…_

_I grant __**thou**__ the key of thy soul…_

_Thy potential shall bring forth a new __**power**__…_

_I grant thou the wand of the __**Magician**__,_

_to which thou shall __**harness**__ the power to unity…~_

A green light flowed through Morgana as bursts of wind blew around him. When the light faded, Arata let go of the cat creature, who was somehow floating in the air before gliding down to the floor.

_~there. Two confidants in one day… man, you'll be strong in no time if this keeps up.~_

"Indeed. Now, I do believe some clarification of Morgana's proposal should be addressed." Igor said.

"Morgana has already told you about the Palace having a "treasure" so to speak, yes?" Philemon asked, gaining nods as an answer. "You've hesitated because of some notion that it might lead to death, but this is merely false detail. Think of this Treasure as a splinter to a person's skin. It causes "pain"-twisted desires in this case- to manifest and as long as it is there, it holds this pain for the person."

"Therefore, Taking away this "splinter"- the treasure- will alleviate said pain with little to no repercussions to the person." Igor finishes.

"...um…"

_~you're basically saying that it won't kill the guy, correct?~_

"Correct. As long as the shadow ruler of said twisted desires stays alive, then the real variant will not suffer the fate of death."

"Well, then sign me up!" Ryuji proclaimed. "If it won't kill him, then we can make him pay without hesitation."

"I agree. This was practically half the reason why I've brought you here anyways." Akira agreed.

"I am glad to see your resolve… though I have grave news…"

_~what?~_

"**He** wishes to see you again."

"..."

"You needn't worry about us, Trickster, or anything within this realm. Nyx has taken upon herself to shroud this dimension from view. He cannot see, hear or even know about what happens in this room."

"Though as a precaution." Igor warned. "Do try to keep this a secret, the last thing we need is for the Demiurge to find out about this place."

_~oh trust me, we don't wanna sell you guys out for the world… literally.~ _

"I am glad to hear it, Reaper. Another thing I wish to tell you are the facilities i wish to grant you."

"Unfortunately, He has taken access to most of the normal means to aid you with, but we have made a new set of facilities in their stead for the time being; the ability to assimilate, dismantle, and synchronize."

"You will have to come back with spirits before we can allow you access to these, however."

"That's fine. Well, if there's nothing else to talk about, then we'll see you guys soon."

"Farewell, and good luck."

* * *

_*you have returned to the real world. Welcome back.*_

Warping back to reality the group of four, walked down the streets of Shibuya.

"...aw crap, I forgot to ask the guys about the app.." Ryuji moaned.

"Don't worry, we can go back anytime." Akira replied, pocketing the velvet room key.

"Anyways, you three must be tired." Morgana stated, with the three nodding in confirmation. "Let's rest up first and plan things out tomorrow."

_~oh, that reminds me! Hey Ryuji.~_

"Yeah, what?"

_~I'll need small blank sheets of paper, as big as playing cards, and i need lots of them if possible.~_

"Any reason why?"

_~You gave me an idea back then, before you awakened. Just a precautionary measure. Think you can do it?~_

"Sure. I've got shit tons of copy paper at my place. Will that do?"

_~perfect, bring 'em to me tomorrow and i can get to work.~_

"Cool, Oh, I almost forgot." Taking out his phone, Ryuji typed a few things on it before showing it to Akira. "Here's my number, and chat I.D. We can text each other if we're separated and stuff."

Nodding at the rather clever idea, Akira registered Ryuji into his contacts, and added him into his chat.

"Welp, I'mma get home early, see ya guys." Ryuji waved off, departing from the group.

_~later!~ _"bye!"

* * *

Meanwhile… near the school, two girls are seen chatting nearby. One of them, a raven haired girl with a ponytail, and the other, a familiar blonde with pigtails. Unbeknownst to the two, a blue haired male was closeby as well, listening in to their conversation.

"... to be honest with you, Ann…" the black haired girl lamented, "I... haven't been sleeping well. Whenever I close my eyes, I keep thinking of too many things…"

"Shiho…" the now dubbed Ann, whispered solemnly.

" Shiho..." the blue haired male repeated, the same amount of sadness present.

"I know nationals are a bit of a ways away, but I can't help but think… should someone like me really be on the starting lineup?"

"Of course you do. Just have confidence in yourself. You worked harder than anyone else in the girl's volleyball team. That's got you recognized, so don't sell yourself short."

"Yeah… volleyball's all I have after all.."

"A shame, that you're shackled just like me…" the bluenette male whispered, clenching his fists.

"More importantly, are you okay? That injury seemed pretty serious…"

"N-no, it's normal… especially when a meet's coming up."

"A meet? I though they usually do it in april?"

"Yeah… it was announced at the last second… something about more pep-rallies and publicity…"

"... I...I should probably get this over with…" the male whispered, before walking up to the two girls. "Sorry to interrupt, Suzui… Mr. Kamoshida told me to get you…"

"Huh?" she squeaked quietly, "what does he want?"

"He didn't say…" he answered, looking away from the girls with a downtrodden look.

Looking back to ann for a brief moment… Shiho shuddered.

"Ann, I…"

"... it'll be fine. I bet it's about the starting lineup or something like that."

"If only it were that simple…" the blue haired male growled lowly.

"Mishima?"

"Nothing, just coughing."

"...yeah, maybe you're right…" she stammered, getting up from their seat. "Well, I'd better go."

"Good luck!" Ann said. "And… hang in there, Shiho…"

Walking away from the blonde haired girl, Shiho, and the newly named Mishima parted ways.

"If only that were true…" Mishima hissed lowly in rage.

* * *

Later on in the evening, traveling back to leblanc's went relatively peaceful, but it was short lived when Akira entered the door.

"Hmm? Oh you're back." Sojiro deadpanned, reading a magazine on the counter. "I take it you actually went to school today?"

"Of course." was his answer.

"Well good. Just to be clear, you're out of here if you so much as cause trouble."

_~we know old man.~_

"I understand."

"Glad to hear that. Now don't mind me." Sojiro said, looking back to the paper. At this moment, Akira's phone vibrated, making him pull it out to reveal a text message from Ryuji.

**Ryu:** Hey, decided to message ya. Can you see this?

Looking for a bit, he shrugged and typed away.

**RenRen:** Yep.

**Ryu:** dude, your name's Renren!?

**RenRen:** bring it up in school, and you'll regret it.

**Ryu:** a'ight, it's cool. Anyways I'll be counting on you to help in the interrogating tomorrow. ok?

**RenRen:** no problem.

**Ryuji:** oh, and tell Arata that I've got some of those slips of paper done.

_~cool. I can already picture them now…~_

**RenRen**: will do.

Putting away his phone, the two headed up towards the room… and unzipped the bag that had Morgana inside.

"My god... this place if filthy." he said. "You two actually live in this place?"

_~eh, it's the best we've got, and we didn't really have much use for the whole room.~_

"Still, wouldn't it be cool to at least clean all of it?"

"What's that noise up there!?" Sojiro yelled, climbing the stairs himself and seeing Morgana. "Huh… so that's what it was. I knew I heard Meowing!"

"Please, Mr. Sakura, Please let me keep him. I didn't have a place to stay."

"... no place to stay huh…" Sojiro said, deep in though for a few moments. "Alright, fine. I guess it'll help you behave if you take care of a pet… just keep it away from downstairs. And he's entirely your responsibility. If it raises trouble, then it's gone."

"Thank you, sir." Akira sighed as the barista walked back downstairs.

After a quick reappearance of Sojiro giving the two curry, Arata and Morgana discussing a bit and a quick dinner, Akira fell into a deep slumber, anticipating the dreams waiting for them.

* * *

Waking up in a familiar cell, Akira and Arata were faces with "Igor", Caroline and Justine once again.

"Welcome back, Trickster and friend." "Igor" greets. "I thought about resuming our previous conversation tonight, that is why I summoned you here."

"Good to know.."

"What are your thoughts? Have you become accustomed to this place?"

"Something like that… I could do without the prison theme though…"

_~same here.. I'd prefer something more cozy, like a limo or an elevator or something.~_

"Pipe down inmates!" Caroline snarled.

_~Make me Carol.~_

"C-Carol!?"

_~yeah, Carol, and Justy. you two have nicknames now, so deal with it.~_

"Why you-"

"Enough, Caroline." Justine droned.

"Glad to hear it. It seems you have nerves of steel. " He chuckled. "Your rehabilitation determines if ruin can be stopped, yet such a feat cannot be done alone."

"I agree."

"Today, you have entered a partnership with not one, but two people, who have awoken a similar power to your own, haven't you?"

"A partnership?" Akira asked, acting like this is the first time he's heard of this.

"Involving yourself with others is a vital foundation for your recovery. You've done well. That said, I am not advising the formation of superficial relationships. It must not be by frivolity, but a ring of those who would, by morals or faith, lend you their strength. Proof of such a bond will form what is called a Social Link, and the partners who will aid you are called Confidants." Igor states. "The expansion of said ring will, in turn, help you mature as well."

Justine then turned towards the two. "Personas are the strength of heart. The stronger the bonds that surround you, the more power your personas will gain."

"There are countless people in the city with access to talents a wuss like you doesn't." Caroling chimed in, also turning to the two. "You better rack that Brain of your and get them on your side. We'll change that into power."

"Alright…" Akira answered.

_~fine..~_

"Indeed. You should prepare to use even myself, lest your ambitions will never come to fruition." "Igor" chuckles. "We have a deal then."

A familiar feeling envelopes Akira as the female voice echoes once more.

_I am Thou, Thou art I…_

_Thou hast acquired a new vow…_

_It shall become the wings of rebellion_

_that breaketh thy chains of captivity…_

_With the birth of the Fool Arcana, _

_I have obtained the winds of blessing that_

_Shall lead to freedom and a new power_

"Well… you will understand in due time… Continue devoting yourself to your rehabilitation."

"Time's up. Get lost, Inmate!" Caroline shouts, as the world faded to black once more.

* * *

_Wednesday, January 13th_

_Cloudy_

_Shujin Academy_

_Early Morning _

"Hey, Arata." Akira asks, lugging around a bag with Morgana hidden inside.

_~what.~_

"How're my stats?"

_~still small mostly, but here ya go…~_

**Akira R. Amamiya-Kurusu**

**Lv. 6**

**Hp: 324**

**Sp:270**

**Guts (Rnk 2): 6/10**

**Kind (Rnk 3): 6/10**

**Prof (Rnk 1): 0/10**

**Chrm (Rnk 3): 4/10**

**Intl (Rnk 2): 8/10**

"Huh, not bad for a restarting spread. We'll get back up to our former glory soon." Akira whistled, "but I have to ask… what happened to you two last night? You look terrible." true to his claim, neither cat or spirit looked like they had any sleep at all. Before they could defend themselves however...

"Hey, Guys!" Ryuji yelled at the, running up the the group.

"Hey Ryuji."

_~sup.~_

"Hey man. Ready for the plan today?"

"Yep."

_~got my slips of paper?~_

"Right here." Ryuji pulled out several stacks of card sized paper, bound to small rubber bands.

_~aw yeah! These'll do nicely~_

"Say, what're these for anyway?" He asked, handing them to Akira.

_~just in cast we somehow get in more people without persona, or when we're running low on energy, then they'll be used for defense instead. I'll show you later.~_

"Let's just get through the day…" Akira announces.

"Right."

After several lectures, and having half of them cancelled for the sudden volleyball rally, both Akira and Ryuji looked on as the teachers and students played the treacherous sport, Arata floating close behind them.

_~alright, so I've been thinking…~_

"And?"

_~I have another idea.~_

"Oh this oughta be good…"

_~how about we cover our tracks while we take the treasure?~_

"...sorry?"

_~hear me out… people are gonna find it suspicious that he'll just randomly confess for no reason, and worst case scenario, the lemmings here will most likely blame you two. So… we record real evidence, gain testimonies from the victims, and more of his misdeeds, and use that as a red herring. That way, people will believe that Kamoshita confessed from stress and guilt, instead of seemingly out of nowhere.~_

"... that's actually a good idea."

"So, let's get the interrogations first, that way, we'll have the testimonies ready-" as Ryuji says this, Mishima gets bludgeoned in the face with a Softball, calling the match. "...and we just got out first target."

"We'll take him to the nurse's Office." Akira shouts, both he and Ryuji rushed in and carried the down blunette out the gymnasium, ignoring the whispers from the other people.

Once they were alone, the three made it to the infirmary, and patched the damaged boy up. Since they were alone now, Ryuji started the conversation.

"So… Mishima, right?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Calm down, we just wanna ask some questions."

"About Kamoshida, i'd bet…"

"..."

"Look, you're wasting your time. Even if I answered your questions, nobody will listen to you anyways…"

_~hey guys… this kid looks familiar…~_ Arata mumbles.

"All we're asking is if the Abuse rumors were true…"

"And if they were? Who'll you go to, huh?"

"We'll bring the police, duh!"

"Sakamoto, the police won't care either, if they did, then he'd be long gone by now."

_~blue hair.. Short frame… maybe…~_

"It's just a yes or no question." Akira said.

"And I'm telling you, You're wasting your time."Mishima growled ferally, making the two step back slightly. Seeing their shocked expression, he became timid once more. "O-oh, sorry, I'm just… not in the mood."

_~feral temper… I'm 80% sure…~_

"Look, just drop it, okay." and with that, Mishima leaves, just as the two looked back, the bell rang, signifying the rally to be over.

"Well shit."

* * *

After spending an hour cleaning the gym for skipping the event, Akira and Arata hung out by a few machines conversing lightly with Morgana.

"What did you mean earlier when you said Mishima looked familiar?" Morgana asked.

_~well, Akira was asleep for this back then, but I watched this show on TV that was essentially a broadcasted MMA tournament.~ _Arata answered. _~there was this one kid with the nickname "Little Demon", barely double digits, he was an MMA prodigy, going toe to toe with veteran fighters themselves. He even won the tournament… but.~_

"But what?"

_~apparently there was this heist after the tournament. When the cops arrived, the criminals were mauled half to death, crawling away from a crying, bleeding child hugging his mother. Nobody heard of Little Demon since… and he's short, had blue hair, and had a short fuse… something that Mishima showed earlier.~_

"So you think Mishima's Little Demon?"

_~i am 80% sure on that.~_

"Why 80?"

_~Aside from not seeing him fight, Little Demon also had this bandage on his nose, something Mishima lacked.~_

"Well, back to the evidence thing… Akira, there's something we need to tell you.."

"Well, we'll look into that later." Akira said, spotting Ann walking up to him. "We've got company…"

"Hey… Can I talk to you for a second?" Ann asked. "It'll be quick, promise."

"...fine."

"Anyway, what's with you? with that whole lateness lie and all… there's that weird rumor about you too…"

"What do you want with him?" the familiar voice of Ryuji stated, startling the girl.

_~oh thank god.~_

"Right back at you. You're not even in our class." Ann rebutted.

"We just happened to get to know each other, so what?"

"I'll cut to the chase… what do you plan on doing to Kamoshida?"

"Huh!?" Ryuji stammered a bit before recomposing himself. " Oh, I see.. I getcha… You're all buddy-buddy with Kamoshita, after all."

"What?"

_~What?~_

"This has nothing to do with you, Sakamoto!"

"If you'd found out half the stuff he's been doing behind your back, you'd dump his ass in a second."

"Behind my back? What's that supposed to mean?"

Looking at Akira and Arata, Ryuji shook his head in frustration. "...you wouldn't get it."

"Anyway, people are already talking about you two… I don't know what you're trying to do, but Nobody will help you. I'm just warning you, just in case." she finished, walking away.

"We know damn well nobody'll help, that's why we're doing it ourselves." he mumbled. "Why does she have to be so aggressive sometimes?"

"You know her?"

"Yeah… we were in middle school together, along with her best friend. Since coming here, we barely talked much though. So what'd I miss?"

_~I have a hunch that Mishima's the long lost "Little Demon" from way back when.~_

"Hold up… Little Demon? As in the Kid MMA Master Little Demon? Foreal!?"

_~i'm only mostly sure… If I can see the boy fight, then i'll be able to confirm or deny it.~_

"Back to the matter at hand. Since interrogation is out, I have another proposal." Morgana suggests. "If you give me one of your phones, then Arata and I can sneak in and record Kamoshida's "Special training" classes."

"That's perfect… but won't people freak out with a cat and a flying phone?"

_~don't worry kid, anything smaller than I am turns invisible too, if I want it to. Watch.~_ Arata said, grabbing Akira's glasses and putting them on himself. _~look at the reflection.~ _

Looking at the reflection, Ryuji smirked when he say that, true to his claim, Akira's glasses was nowhere to be seen.

"Awesome! let's see if we can scrounge up any more evidence left before calling it a day."

_~Morgana and I actually did this earlier, but we didn't have a phone on us…~_

"Was that why you two looked like shit?"

"Yeah… but it was well worth it." Morgana growled lowly.

"...what happened?"

"We wanted to see if we could find anything from Kamoshida's office himself, but.."

"But?"

_~we saw him… attempting to force himself on a girl.~_

"WHAT!?" both Akira and Ryuji shouts.

_~from the looks of it, she was a girl with a black ponytail wearing the volleyball uniform. Thankfully, we stopped him in time to save her.~_

"Black ponytail… volleyball unif- OH, Shiho Suzui!"

"Huh?"

_~what you on about now Ryuji?~_

"The girl you guys saved." Ryuji clarified. "That must've been Ann's friend I mentioned before."

_~aw shit, that means he might be doing more than just abusing the team.~_

"We gotta look more into this later on."

* * *

After finishing up their "punishment" for the day, the group now were walking out of the school. However, Arata and Morgana picked up a rather unusual sound in the distance.

"Hey did you guys hear that?" Morgana asked, gaining the other's attention.

_~I think it sounded like a gunshot…~_

Hearing the noise again, the four looked around.

"It sounds like it's coming from the gym…" Ryuji commented.

"Let's check it out." AKira said, leading to the four investigating the sound echoing through the area. As the sound got louder and louder, the four managed to pinpoint the noise coming from the gym.

"Sweet, I called it."

Opening up the door slightly, the four took a peek at what was going on, and the sight before them was astonishing. There stood Mishima, still having a few visible bruises, punching and kicking a punching bag in repeated haste. Each hit impacted the bag like bang from a gunshot, and with a final punch, Mishima knocked the whole bag a few feet away from him.

"Holy shit…" Ryuji mumbled.

_~welp, now, I'm convinced. That's Little Demon alright.~_

"HELL YEAH!"

"Who's there!?" Said boy in question yelled, hostility leaked out in a murderous intent.

"Oh shit…" after a few seconds, the door was fully opened, revealing the four eavesdroppers, and shocking the blunette.

"W-what? What are you doing here!?"

"That's a thing we should be asking you." Akira retorted.

"Yeah, and what the hell was that all about!" Ryuji added.

"Oh… you saw that…" Mishima whispers, looking away, "it's nothing, just a stress reliever, that's all."

"First off, A stress reliever doesn't required you to pull a 50 hit combo like that."

"74- shut up!" Mishima stammered embarrassingly.

"Second, what the hell kind of "stress" makes you want to tear the punching bag apart?"

"Just pent-up frustration."

"From…"

"none of your business."

"Fine, fine, no need to go all demon on u-" as Ryuji said this, he stopped when Mishima seemed to flinch hard at that sentence. "Hey, are you alright?"

"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine, just a bruise is all…"

"Which one?"

"What?"

"Which bruise? The ones from fighting, or the many from Kamoshita's abuse?"

"...so that's what this is all about, huh?"

"Not really," Akira clarified, "We thought we heard gunshots, and went to investigate, turns out we heard you and your "stress relief" instead."

"...you're wasting your time. Nobody will help you."

"We know, that's why we're doing it ourselves."

"No, I mean, NOBODY; everyone knows, but they all keep quiet."

"...what?"

_~WHAT!?~_

"The teachers, the students, their parents… they don't say anything because of the results."

"So just because it benefits them, nobody will stand up to that prick's torture!?" Ryuji growled, unbeknowingly sparking a few bolts of electricity.

"It it how it is. Now if you'll excuse me…" Mishima said, picking up the punching bag with one arm, further surprising the four. "I have practice to go to…" and with that, he walked off.

"Goddammit. Everyone knows and not a damn person's doing anything about it!"

"Calm down Ryuji, this is good." Akira said, gaining incredulous looks from the blonde.

"What!?"

"This just means that it'll be all the more bittersweet when we bring him to justice ourselves."

"...oh yeah, you're right."

_~alright, you two head back for now, Kira, gimme your phone.~_ handing over the phone to the god, Akira unzipped his back completely, releasing Morgana. ~_Morgana and I will follow Mishima. Let's go get some evidence.~_

"Right. Akira, let's go see if there are any more people we might talk to." and with that, the team split up, the two students leaving the school, and the spirit and cat followed the blunette.

* * *

After an hour or two later, Akira finally managed to get to Leblanc's. After another bust on the interrogating, he sighed heavily, as Morgana and Arata came up to him and the three entered.

After a welcome back from Sojiro, the three decided to turn in for the night.

His phone vibrating, Akira took it out as the three read the latest chat from Ryuji.

**Ryu**: this doesn't make any damn sense.

**Ryu**: the principal, the teachers, even the parent know about the abuse.

**Ryu**: why ain't anyone speaking up!?

**RenRen**: they're all scared or adore Kamoshida

**Ryu**: that can't be the only reason why though…

**Ryu**: most likely because that asshole made the volleyball team famous, right?

**Ryu**: even so, that doesn't mean he can do what he wants!

**Ryu**: he's torturing the students, and they could only endure in silence.

**Ryu**: and that follower of his doesn't give a shit…

**RenRen**: follower?

**Ryu**: Ann Takamaki, the girl we talked to earlier, remember? You should remember her, dude. She's in your class.

**Ryu**: ugh! This is bullshit!

**Ryu**: I can't let it end like this. I'll try to find someone who'll be able to talk during break tomorrow. I ain't give up!

Putting away his phone, Akira nodded before turning to the other two in the roo-

_**~so, have you acquired evidence to dethrone the false king?~**_ make that three-

_~indeed we have amigo.~_...four, make that four in the room.

"Yep, we got half an hour's worth of evidence from that one session alone." Morgana answered.

_~toture's more or less the same. And we got full proof.~_

"A few more of these, and he'll be arrested for sure."

"Perfect, Now, let's go to bed. We'll cover more ground tomorrow."

_**~indeed.~**_

_~very well.~_

_~night man.~_

"goodnight."

* * *

_Thursday, January 14th_

_Cloudy_

_Shujin Academy_

_Morning_

As classes were going on, Akira's phone vibrated in his pocket, gaining Akira's Morgana's and Arata's attention. Looking up to the teacher, he took out his phone when the teacher wasn't looking.

**Ryu:** so, I was thinking…

**Ryu:** maybe we can get something out of Takamaki?

**RenRen:** since she's supposedly with Kamoshida?

**Ryu:** something' like that. She's the closest we've got to him, and I can already tell that she'd wanna kick his ass just as much as we do. Plus, she knows about the volleyball team; Shiho's with them.

**RenRen:** alright, I'll see what I can do.

**Ryu:** I'll talk with an associate of mine to see of she knows anything too.

**RenRen:** you have a girlfriend?

**Ryu:** Eff off, man, I just help her out from time to time.

**Ryu:** anyways, gotta go, Imma bomb this class if I don't pay attention.

Putting his phone away, Akira looked ahead, thinking on how to get Ann to talk.

_~We can probably just corner her like she did us and ask.~_

"But that's be suspicious at least…" Akira whispered.

_~true… let's wait 'till free period to talk to her…~_

A few classes later, after failing to get Takamaki's attention, the team had opted to talk to her after school. Now that the school day's over, the group of four walked over to both Ann and Shiho talking.

"...maybe we should wait 'till they're finished first." Ryuji suggested. Nodding at this, the group of four waited on as the two talked.

"Shouldn't you be practicing right now? What's wrong?" Ann asked.

"...uh-huh…" Shiho answered quietly.

"That bruise above your eye… that's from practice too?"

"...y-yeah.."

"Are you sure you're not pushing yourself too hard?"

"I'm ok, this is pretty much the only thing I can do right…"

Anns phone Vibrated in her pocket, causing the onlookers to silently panic for a brief moment.

"Shouldn't you take that?"

"It's probably from my job… I think…"

"I...should get going…"

"Shiho… are you sure you're fine?" Ann asked, holding the bruised girl's hand.

"Uh-huh…" was her answer as the raven haired girl stood up and walked off.

Sighing, the group nodded before walking into the scene, pretending that they heard nothing.

"Hey, An-" was what Ryuji started saying, but was promptly ignored as the girl walked off as well. "Crap. we missed our chance."

_~split up. Kira and I'll go find Shiho, you and Morgana go with blondie!~_

"Right. Catch ya later you two."

"Right."

* * *

Traversing through the school after hours was surprisingly hard, but at least they managed to find the girl they were looking for.

"Hey, Suzui, right?" Akira asked the girl, startling her a bit before she whipped around at talk.

"Y-yeah, who's asking?"

"Calm down, I just want to talk. I'm Akira."

"... what is it?" she asked. "...oh, I'm in the way, aren't I? Sorry.."

"No, I'm sorry too. I wasn't really paying much attention… hey are you alright?"

"Huh..? um… well… this might not be any of my business, but don't let the rumors get to you, ok?"

_~there were rumors?~_

"They don't bother me, I know they're false."

"It's just… I've helped with a similar case before… my best friend is often misunderstood too, just because she's pretty… oh, sorry, i shouldn't drag on like that."

_~jeez, i'm starting to think she's on the verge of suicidal… I'm getting depressed just hearing her tone.~_

"A-anyway, I have practice… i'll see you around…" she finished, walking away from the two.

_~Kira…~_

"Yeah?"

_~phone time… I have a bad feeling about this…~_

"Here." he hands the phone over to the floating teen.

_~Alright, see you later, hopefully, i can get something good.~_

A few minutes, later, Akira reunited with Ryuji and Morgana, both of which were not pleased at all.

"Dammit. What the hell…"

"So close, yet so far... " Morgana sighed.

"what happened?"

"We lost her in a crowd."

"What's worst is that everyone else I went to was talking the same shit Mishima said earlier. My friend didn't know much either."

"Who's this friend of yours anyway?"

"Hmm… Oh, her name's Haru." Ryuji answered. "I usually hang out by the roof, and it just so happened that she goes up there to nurture her plants. I tend to help her out when I'm bored."

"Ooh, you'll have to introduce me to her sometime."

"Sure thing, but she couldn't help either; she doesn't really focus on sports here, so she didn't know much."

"A shame…" Morgana mumbled. "But, at least we have someone to talk to, despite her lack of knowledge on this case, who'll at least talk to us."

"Crap!" Ryuji cursed "Kamoshida probably forced them into silence or something. At this rate, we'll have to go to him directly…"

"Funny you should mention that…"

"Huh?"

"Remember the Palace?"

"...OH, yeah, I almost forgot about that."

"We'll need to find a secure route to the treasure first, wherever that is, and then we can initiate step two when we do find it."

"Let's discuss this at a safer place."

"Where to?" Akira's answer was a smirk from the blonde.

* * *

"So, Why are we on the roof again?"

"Don't worry, barely anyone comes up here."

"What about this Haru girl?"

"Nah, she's usually gone home at this hour. We're fine. So, what do we do about that Palace?"

"If we steal the treasure, then it'll erase the palace, which with essentially force the owner to have a change of heart." Mogana explained. "And without their warped wants, the crimes committed remain."

"And as long as we don't kill the shadow ruler, then it'll be fine to take it." Akira finished.

"precisely."

"Hey, I just noticed a minute ago, but where's Arata?"

"He went to record more of the "special lessons" from the volleyball team."

"Well, our lucks runnin' dry lookin' for witnesses… let's head on over to the other side and see if we can make progress."

"Right. We'll wait for Arata, then we'll leave." the three nodded at this, and left, none of them noticing the peach haired girl hiding beside them.

"... Palace? " the girl whispered, looking at the the retreating figures.

* * *

After waiting a short while, Akira, Ryuji and Morgana decided to reschedule their venture to the Palace for tomorrow, since Arata came by late, with little worse for wear.

_~the bastard was being extra thorough with the torture today, and this time, he tried molesting multiple girls.~_ he said. _~had to take up more time stopping him.~_

Nodding at the answer, the group decided to call it a day, with Akira, Morgana, and Arata were heading back to leblanc's….. Until they caught sight of Ann arguing with someone on the phone in the distance. Sneaking up to listen to her, the three hid as she continued to talk.

"I keep telling you, I'm not feeling up to it… will you give it a rest already!?" she yelled over the phone. "... wait, what!? That's not what you promised! And you call yourself a teacher!?... This has NOTHING to do with Shiho!... FUCK!" taking away her phone Ann was on the verge of breaking down at any moment. At this, Akira walked up to her, ignoring the protests from Morgana.

"Hey… are you alright?" He asked, startling the girl in front of him.

"Wha- were you listening?"

"Kind of hard not to when you were screaming in the phone."

"Haven't you heard of privacy?... no, I was out of line. Sorry about that." she answered. "... how much did you hear exactly?"

"You were arguing with somebody…something about Shiho?"

"Shiho… it's nothing at all… nothing."

_~nothing she say- HEY!~_ Arata shouts as Ann suddenly runs off. _~after her!~_

A few minutes of chasing later, Akira and friends finally caught up to the panting, worn out girl.

"Stop following me!" she wheezed. "Leave me alone!"

"Calm down, I just want to help."

"Why… why do you keep worrying about me?" she choked, breaking down into full blown crying.

"Let's go somewhere safe to talk…"

"What's with you… I can't tell anymore.."

After a few more exchanged words, we now see the new group of four sitting around at a residential cafe, alone in the corner to continue their complex conundrum.

"I don't have anything to talk about with you." she said. "It was… just an argument…"

"With Kamoshida, I presume?"

_~wow, way to be blunt there Kira.~_

"She seems to be stressed out with stuff. I might as well help out…" he thought.

"You've heard the rumors, right?"

"...about you and Kamoshida being a thing?"

"...yeah.. Everyone says we're getting it on, but… that's so not true…"

"I hand a hunch that it wasn't…"

"That was him on the other line...I avoided him for as long as I can…"

_~okay...this is getting a bit sad.~_

"He told me to meet him after this… you know what that means…"

_~...damn.~_

If I turn him down, again, then he said, he'll take my friend off the team entirely…"

_~that self-centered fucktard!~_

"I'm sorry to hear that…"

"I've been telling myself that this is all for Shiho's sake…" Ann sobbed, tears running down her face. "But I can't take it anymore...I've had enough of this… I hate him! But shiho's my best friend… she's all I have at this sorry excuse of a school!... please… tell me… what should I do?"

"..."

_~say something man! Anything!~_

"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have asked." she sniffed. "It's not your prob-"

"What about Ryuji?"

"Huh?" she looked back up to Akira.

"Ryuji said that the both of you went to middle school together… why not let him be your friend? And what about me? I'll be your friend too if you want me to."

"...Akira…"

"And as for Shiho, you just have to be there for her."

"R-really?"

"Yeah."

"... you're so weird… usually everyone just ignores me. Ar you really a bad person as the rumor says? You don't seem like that type of person…"

"I'm bad to the bone,"He quipped with a smirk, causing the girl to chuckle.

"Yeah, okay sure… I kinda had a feeling they were just exaggerations… you seemed lonely- like you didn't belong anywhere…"

"..."

"We're the same in that regard… maybe that's why it was easy for me to talk to you…"

"Really…"

"Is there really no way for me to help Shiho? I wish he'd just forget everything… if only he'd just change his mind…"

_~oh, sweetheart, you couldn't be anymore closer to the truth.~_

"As if something like that would ever happen."

"...it could happen..."

"I wasn't asking for a serious response." she smiled. "But… I do feel a bit better now… thanks."

"No problem. Just remember to be there for Shiho. That'd be more than enough."

"Right… just don't tell anyone what I told you, okay?"

_~heh, you wish.~_

"I'll try to persuade Kamoshida somehow… see ya, and… thanks again." she finishes, heading out of the cafe, and leaving the three alone.

" well, now there's more on the table than just abuse and sexual assault." Morgana said from his bag.

_~yeah, Now we can add blackmail and privilege abuse to the list.~_

"Let's head back to Leblanc's. We'll talk it over with Ryuji tomorrow."

"Right." _~right.~_

And with that, the three left as well, unknowingly missing the familiar blue haired male a few tables away.

* * *

**Third chapter done!**

**Okay, I've made a little thing with Arata and the Persona talking, so here's a little chart for what's going to be their voices at the moment:**

_Arata = ~hello~_

_**Arsene = ~hello~**_

_**Kidd = ~hello~**_

_Zorro = ~hello~_

**More on that later. And now, the next chapter will have a certain surprise twist in there, so keep a look out for that.**

**TBC.**


	4. Chapter 3: Triple Trial Pt1

**Okay, for those wondering why I'm pumping these chapters out like a rapid-fire shotgun used by a trigger happy Psychopath (don't ask), then do I have a tale for you!**

**Okay, So I just recently looked into the persona series after the announcement of Joker in smash. I didn't know who that was at the time, so I looked into it. And I fell in love with it, just like I did with Final Fantasy, RWBY, and Japanese mythology. And being the curious clusterfuck that I was, I delved a bit deeper into the franchise.**

**So that's all well and good, but when I was working on my fics here later on, I realized that some of the new chapters I made was beginning to have a similar structure to some persona games. This was kinda bad since they were doing sort of alright before my research into persona/SMT, and I didn't want to ruin them by ripping off the games, so after putting some stuff on hiatus while thinking about how to fix this, I came up with this; pouring all of my love into a concentrated piece so I can focus my stories on what they're from.**

**With that anecdote finished, let us begin!**

* * *

_Friday, January 15th_

_Rainy_

_Shujin Academy_

_Afternoon_

After several more boring classes, and Arata's suggestion on exploring the school while he was in class, Akira, Morgana and Arata walked down the hallway to their last period class, when Arata spotted both Mishima and Shiho talking to each other.

_~yo Kira. I need both Morgana and your phone.~_ Arata stated, getting confused reactions from the two.

"...why?" was his answer.

_~I have a bad feeling about this… and I might need backup just in case. I saw Mishima and Shiho talking earlier.~_

"And that's bad...why?"

_~what are they mostly connected to?~_

"... fine, here." Akira relented, giving Arata his phone and releasing Morgana when the coast was clear.

_~cool, and just in time too. They stopped walking. Come on Morgana.~ _floating away from Akira, both cat and god advanced towards the two volleyball players. Hiding easily, both eavesdropped at the current conversation going on.

"Suzui…" Mishima whispered, gaining her attention.

"Hmm?"

"Are you leaving?"

"...what is it?" Shiho asked, turning towards the blunette.

"...Mr. Kamoshida's asking for you… he's in the PE faculty office…"

Shooting a look of surprise, Shiho shook lightly with a sudden sense of unease. "What did he say?"

"...I... i don't know.." Mishima answered, looking downtrodden, "well… I have to go…" and with those parting words, Mishima sped off, leaving the girl, cat, and spirit into thought.

"..."

_~I knew my bad feeling was going somewhere…~ _Arata whispered. ~_it's not going away either…~_

"We should follow her." Morgana whispered. Nodding together, they waited a few seconds before following the scared girl. After a few moments of trailing, the three were near the office in question, and Shiho went inside.

_~so, this is the faculty office?~_

"Seems like it."

_~and you got the same-~_

"Yeah…"

_~good. I'm not the only one then-~_ just then, a sudden scream echoed behind the door in front of them before promptly going silent with a small fwap.

_~was that...!?~_

"Quick, open the door!"

_~get the camera!~_ tapping a few buttons on the phone and opening the camcorder app, Arata pushed open the door to see the rather horrifying scene before them.

There on the desk was a crying Shiho, hands clutching her face with blood dripping down from her palm, with Kamoshida huddled over her, striking her repeatedly while he attempted to pull some of her clothes off.

_~hit record, HIT RECORD!~_

"but- "

_~I've got this, just get footage before I do!~_ Arata said, floating up to Kamoshida's back before rubbing his hands. _~Zio~ _sparks jolted around his palms as he gave the back of the teacher's neck a hearty slap!

"AGH!" said teacher winced in pain, backhanding the girl off the desk and onto the floor in the process.

_~Crap! Morgana, switch!~ _Arata shouts, flying to the cat and snatching up the camera, recording as the cat predates towards the teacher, who resumed his undressing as he snatched Shiho up off the ground.

"Your friend has denied me for the last time, so you're gonna help me calm down **RIGHT**." Kamoshida growled.

"..." the beaten girl whimpered, only to get another slap in the face.

"**RIGHT!?** You've got nothing left to do except obey, that's the only thing you're good for anyways."

"...no, it's no-"

"Quiet bitch!" another slap silenced the girl."I call the shots here so you bette-AAAAAAGGH" His tirade was cut short as Morgana pounced and clawed the back of his head, scratching, biting, and kicking the man's face in many directions.

"A-a cat!?" She yelps, just then Arata hovered over the girl and whispered into her ear, startling her further.

_~go... now. Meet up with Ryuji and Akira.~_

"W-wha-"

_~hurry, run! RUN!~_

Blindly heeding the Arata's voice, Shiho ran out the room, staggering a bit and crying all the way.

"The hell did this cat come from!?" Kamoshida screamed, succeeding in throwing the cat off of him near the door. Satisfied with their intervention, both Arata and Morgana fled the scene, a scratched and bleeding Kamoshida yelling in rage behind them.

* * *

Reuniting with Akira and Ryuji, Arata and Morgana gave back the phone with grim and enraged looks on their faces.

"Whoa… what happened?" Ryuji asked, unsettled at the flowing murderous intent from the two.

"That monster… he called Shiho to the faculty office." Morgana started.

_~That Dick physically beat her! AND he was trying to rape her too!~_

"WHAT!?" both students exclaimed.

_~we've got it recorded, and we got her out, but she's bleeding from the face and a few cuts and wound opened up!~_

"That Bastard!"

"And that's not all..." Morgana continued. "He was going on about how she denied him for the last time… I think this was because of Lady Ann refusing to meet up with him yesterday."

"Dammit, He's gonna pay for this!" before they could talk some more, some people screamed out.

"EEEEK! Someone's on the roof!" a person yelled!

"Two people!" another.

"I think they're gonna jump!" a third followed suit. The group of four looked at each other before sprinting (and flying) as fast as they could to the rooftop

A few minutes of running people over, clotheslining a few of them along the way, Ryuji practically kicked down the door to the rooftop. Startling the three close by. Looking ahead, the group of four wheezed as they looked to Haru and Mishima trying to pull back a damaged Shiho.

_~I TOLD HER TO GO TO YOU GUYS! IS SHE REALLY THAT SUICIDAL!?~_

"Shiho! Haru! Mishima!" Akira shouts, gaining their attention. "What's going on here!?"

"Help us pull her back! Please!" Haru pleaded. "She almost ran off the building when I saw her."

"It's no use… why won't you let me go!?" Shiho shouted back, struggling wildly as the two held firm, "I'm not worth it, I'm not worth ANYTHING! so just let me go!"

"Never! If anyone's not worth anything, it's me!" Mishima shouts back. "If i had just done something sooner… anything, then this wouldn't have happened!"

"Crap! Come on Kira!" Ryuji ordered, running to the group and grabbing ahold of Shiho, pulling her back with Akira following suit.

"Shiho, this isn't the way to go!" Akira yelled. "What about Ann!? How would she react if her best friend was dead!?"

"I'm doing this FOR Ann!" she screamed back. "Without me, she could live on with a happy life without a waste of space like me weighing her down!"

_~That bullshit makes no sense and you know it woman!~ _Arata yelled, casting a weak Garu to blow the group towards him.

"But think about this; will she really be happy!? Knowing that she let her best friend die, not being able to do anything!? She'd blame the whole damn thing on herself!" Ryuji continued.

"...what?"

"she's doing whatever she can do for your sake! Don't throw that all away! Don't throw HER away!"

"I...I…" Shiho stuttered, slowing down her struggling as she broke down sobbing.

"Come on. Let's go see Ann, together."

"..." not stopping her weeping anytime soon ,the extended group successfully lead her from the edge of the roof, walking back towards the building and going down to the bottom floors.

* * *

"Haru, do you know Ann Takamaki?" Ryuji asked.

"Yes, I've heard of her…"

"Go find her and tell her to help Shiho get home."

"Right. Come along Suzui…" Haru held her hands as the two girls left the boys alone.

"Now talk."

"Wh-wha-"

"TALK DAMMIT!" Ryuji screamed. "Why the hell were you up there!? Why was SHE up there!? And what was that bullshit about being worthless!?"

"Because I could've done something for her to prevent this!"

"Shiho almost killed herself! Why haven't you tried anything before then!?"

"You wouldn't understand!"

"Then help us understand! Why were you up there!? We know this is because of Kamoshita! What did you come up there to take her back to him!?"

"NO!"

"Then why!? Why didn't you do anything!? Do you just let people trample all over you!?"

"That's none of your business!"

"It IS if it's making people suffer! If you don't stop acting like a pussy, then everybody will keep treating you like one!"

"WELL I'D RATHER BE A COWARD INSTEAD OF BEING BRANDED AS A MONSTER!" Mishima snapped, shocking the four near him. "You have NO idea what it's like to be feared every single day, and I'm _not _talking about fake fear from shitty rumors!"

"Wha-!?"

"SHUT UP! You couldn't possibly understand the pain of being alone, Outcasted from everyone else, knowing that it was your fault! Don't even bother trying!"

"h-Hold up-"

"Ever since that day… I was outcasted; feared by everyone because I crippled...almost **killed** someone... People would run in terror whenever I so much as look in their direction… I've fought people… SAVED them even, but I was treated like… like…"

"A demon?" Akira suggested, the blunette flinching before nodding.

"Do you have any idea what it's like, being alone with so few people to go to!? My family had to move away just to stop that nightmare! Just because I tried HELPING someone!"

"Mishima…" Akira whispers, thinking back to his own parents… he shook his head. _"Not the time to be thinking about them…" _he thought.

"And guess what… NOBODY knew of the "Little Demon" of Kyoto here, only weak Yuuki Mishima, the guy with no backbone. Everyone thought I was a wimpy coward, not a berserking monster who'll kill them for no reason, and I'd rather be that than feared as a would be murderer…" Mishima continued. "This was a chance to restart everything; this was _my_ second chance to live on, past be damned! And NOW history's trying to repeat itself! Someone's life was in danger… and I just stood there….." tears flowed down his face with each word spoken. "I can't do it again...I don't want to suffer alone again…"

"..."

"...damn… I-I had no idea…"

_~...so, wait…~_ Arata started. _~the story I told implied that Little Demon mauled the criminals… Mishima said that he saved people… everyone now feared that he'll do the same to them because of that incident... and this somehow caused him to develop monophobia?~_

"I think so..?" Morgana answered, confused as well.

_~and because of this phobia, and to get away from being labeled as a monster, he doesn't want to try anything like before, lest the whole "fearing him" thing will repeat itself?~_

"To be fair, what would you do if someone who can kill you in a hundred different ways was coming towards you…"

_~touche..~_

"...look, sorry about yellin' at ya, I got riled up in the heat of the moment." Ryuji sighed." just… thanks… for not letting her fall and all…"

"..."

"Why don't you head home… we won't tell anyone anything that happened here."

"...what? really?"

"Yeah… think of it as our apology for eggin' you on like this."

_~you were the one eggin' him on, boy.~_

"...thanks… I appreciate it….and sorry, for not helping much…"

"No problem, c'mon guys." as the group of four walked past the blunette, Mishima turned to them.

"Wait…" he stammered. "Before you leave… it's true… the abuse, the sexual assault, everything… i-i'll testify if possible… just…"

"Don't worry, Mishima." Akira said. "We'll take him down, for everyone's sake."

As the group walked off, Mishima whimpered one last apology towards Akira before leaving as well.

* * *

A few minutes later after school ended early, Shiho, a livid Ann, and an awkwardly supporting Haru was walking out the school building, both girls holding close to the bruised girl's arms. Just when they reached the stairs, Mishima appears outside. "Wait!" he shouts, gaining the girls attention. "Let me help… it's the least I could do…"

"Mishima…" Shiho mumbled quietly. "...okay…"

"C'mon Yuuki." Ann ordered. "Let's get you home Shiho…"

"To think that mr. Kamoshida would do such a thing…

"I'm sorry… I should've done something sooner… anything would've been better than… Shiho?"

"It's the cat." Shiho stated.

"Huh?"

"Cat?" Ann added.

"The cat... that helped me escape… it's running with… Sakamoto? Akira's with him too…"

"What?" True to her claim, the four students saw Ryuji, Morgana and Akira running from the school and stepping into a nearby alleyway.

"Where are they going?" Shiho asked.

"I don't know… we shou- Sh-Shiho!?" Ann stammered, startled as the Raven haired girl struggled free from her grip and followed suit.

"W-wait!" Ann shouts, following the fleeing female, with Haru and Mishima close behind.

Hiding behind the corner of the alleyway, the four shujin students looked on at the two males and the cat talking to each other.

"That bastard's gone too far this time!" Ryuji snarled. "The sooner we can steal his shit, the better!"

"Stealing…" Haru whispered, gazing at them as Akira pulled out his phone.

"Suguru Kamoshida." Akira started, a ping seconds later. "Shujin Academy…" another ping. "Perverted castle." a third ping rang off.

_*Destination found, beginning navigation.*_

A familiar wave of dizziness washed over the group, as well as the onlookers, as the world distorted entirely. Seconds later, the whole group were now standing at the castle's entrance.

"Alright! Let's go steal that prick's treasure-"

"AAAAH!"

"o-Oh my!"

"What the!?"

"Where are we!?"

"Oh Shit!" Ryuji yelped in surprised, the four changed males looked back, their surprise increased tenfold when they caught sight of Ann, Haru, Mishima and Shiho looking around the place in shock.

"What are you guys doing here!?" Ryuji yelled. Startling the four stragglers further.

"T-that voice… Sakamoto!?" Ann shouts. "And you.. Akira!?"

_~what am I, Chopped liver!?~_

"What is this place!?" Mishima added.

"Why are you four here!?"

"How should we know!? Ann yelled back. "What's going on? Isn't this the school!? Where are we!?"

"A really dangerous place, now you have to leave!"

"WHAT!?"

"How'd you follow us in here anyway!?"

"Hmm… perhaps your app is responsible…" Morgana suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"If multiple people can enter with the person who uses it, then it could be possible to pull others close by with them…"

"Foreal!?"

"Wait… is THIS related to Kamoshida!?" Mishima questioned.

"Anyways, you gotta leave, like right now!"

_~hang on… I knew i placed them somewhere…~_ Arata mumbled, rummaging through his pockets.

"Will you listen to what Arata has to say first!?" Morgana hissed, "The shadows will find us if we make a scene!"

"Oh god!, a Talking Monstercat!?"

"M-Monster?!"

"looks like we gotta force them. Hey Kira, help me get them to safety! " Ryuji sighed, getting a nod for an answer as the two dragged Mishima and Ann out the way they came, Shiho following suit.

_~there they are! Hey-~_ Arata shouts, taking out a bundle of paper slips from his pockets, but only Haru and Morgana was there _~crap. They left… hey… you're Haru right?~_

"Y-yes?" she squeaked.

_~here. take these.~_ He said, handing a stack to her. Just as she took them, Ryuji and Akira came back.

"Alright, now we just gotta get Haru back an-"

_~hang on Ryuji. I've got it covered.~ _Arata shouts, causing the blonde to look on in confusion.

"What're you on about?"

"You do?" Akira asked as well.

_~remember the paper slips I asked for? I used them to make these.~_ Arata explained, showing them several card sized paper sheets with various drawings and symbols. _~they're called Skill cards… well slips in this case. They can be given to people so they can use the skill listed in each sheet. They're one use only though, so we need to use them wisely.~_

"So that's what you meant by insurance…"

_~yeah… I had a feeling something like this would happen, so i made these for the non persona users to defend themselves. Plus, we can use these if we run low on energy.~_

"That's awesome! Wait… then does that mean…"

_~yeah, you didn't really have to send them back exactly.~_

"Oh…well i feel like a dumbass.."

"You are a dumbass." Morgana deadpanned.

"The cat thing is talking…" Haru mumbled, even more confused than before.

"should we go back fo-"

_~too late! We're on a tight schedule! And we have a treasure to steal!~_

"We'll explain the situation to them later, right now, the shadows have noticed us. we need to secure the route!" Morgana interrupted. "We're counting on you Joker!"

"Palace…" the sole female muttered under her breath.

"What the hell? Joker?"

"A code-name. What idiot would use their real name in a heist!? I'm not down for that! And besides, there's no telling what kind of effect yelling our real names will have an effect on the palace… it's just a precaution."

_~before we do that, though… maybe we should explain it to Haru…~_

"Huh?"

***Thud*** as if on cue, the female of the group fainted, her mind cluttered with too much information to process.

"... crap."

* * *

After a few minutes, entering from the air vent from earlier, finding a good hiding spot, and explaining everything to Haru after she regained consciousness, the group of five continued their conversation.

"As I've said before, we'll use code-names from now on whenever we're in a palace."

"So… why Joker?" Ryuji questioned.

"Simple; he's our trump card in terms of fighting strength."

"... not bad. I like it."

"It's settled then."

_~if we're going by code-names, then I'll use my nickname. I'll be addressed as Reaper.~_

"Aw man… there goes that idea." the blonde male moaned.

"Well, next is Ryuji… let's see… "thug" could work." Morgana snarked cheekily.

"You wanna go, Cat!? I'll choose it my own damn self!" he yelled back "When it comes to me… it's gotta be this mask… so, I'll be "Skull". That'll work."

_~what about Haru?~_

"... if I may…" Haru chimed in. "what about "Noir"? Will that work?"

_~any reason why?~_

"I don't know… it just feels right, plus, you're doing this for justice right?"

"Of course. Someone has to stop that man."

"And you're doing this _stealing treasure_ business, correct? Then you're bringing in a darker sense of justice… like some sort of..."

"Phantom thief?"

"Yes… phantom thieves…"

"Well, I can't argue much with that, I like it."

"And as for your, code-name… "Mona". It's short and easy to remember." Ryuji added in.

"Mona… perfect. So we're Joker, Reaper, Mona, Skull and Noir when we're in a Palace."

_~cool, now lets-~_ Arata stopped, hearing many noises from outside the room they're in. _~SHHH!~_

Shifting towards the entrance, the group of five saw Kamoshida yelling at a platoon of guards a little ways away from them.

"You mean to tell me that you idiots can't catch a few morons in costumes!?" the shadow yelled.

_~pot callin' the kettle black, Speedo-man.~_

"I can't let trash like that run around my castle! Find them, dead or alive! I don't care how!"

"YES, LORD KAMOSHIDA!" the squadron shouted in unison, marching ahead to a different hallway.

"We should stick to hiding from here on out. It looks like he's updated the security quite a bit."

"Still say we should beat him up and call it a day…"

_~Later Sakamoto, later.~_

"He's right, Monkey brains."

"Hey!"

"Our focus is to find the treasure first. We'll deal with the shadow ruler later."

"Ugh… fine, where is the damn thing anyway?"

"It should be in the very depths of the whole Palace. Let's go while he's out here."

As the three bickered onward, Joker and Noir opens a nearby door, only for Noir to squeal for a second before Joker pulled her to the side, alarming the other three.

_~Hey Joker, what are you doing over there?~_

"There's a shadow in here." Joker answered, taking his hand off of Noir's face.

"A shadow you say?... is it alone?"

"Y-yeah…" Noir nodded, causing the cat creature to smirk.

"I may have an idea for that; let's ambush it first."

_~on it.~_ Arata peeked into the room the lone shadow was in, creeping towards it when it's back was turned, and lunged at the guard, ripping off the mask it bore to reveal it as yet another fairy.

"Remember the Hold-ups and All-out attacks I told you about before?" three nods was his answer. "I'll teach you their practical use now. There's another use for hold ups besides killing them all at once. Shadows are born from people's hearts, so they can naturally talk too. In other words, you can communicate with them, Got it?"

_~I think i see where you're going with this…~_

"First knock it down."

"Right." Joker pulled out his Handgun, pulling the trigger and downing the fairy like before. Now the four experienced thieves flanked it from all sides, with Noir, awkwardly joining in at one side.

"If you talk to them when they're cornered, then they might bribe you with money or items to stay alive. It's a lot more useful for getting loot compared to just offing them. Try it out, Joker."

"What!? You guys are the intruders that King Kamoshida was talking about!" the downed fairy hissed. "What are you going to do with me, huh!?"

"I want money." Joker ordered.

"Oh? You'll let me live if I give you some cash!?"

"Eh, that'll work for now, but your smooth talking could use some work." Mona deadpanned.

"Be it money or items, just cough it up and we won't end you."

"B-but this happened so fast… I don't have anything on me…"

"...such a shame…" he raised the gun at the frightened mythical shadow.

"W-w-wait I normally do though! Just let me go get some right quick-" a gunshot inches from her face silenced her.

"Whoa! Joker, hang on!"

"That one was a warning shot. The next one won't miss."

_~aim for the eyes!~_

"W-wait! Can't we work something out? I'll do anything, just please let me go!"

"...anything?"

"Yeah, anything, just name it!"

"Then answer me this; why are you serving King Kamoshida?"

"Huh?"

_~if you can "huh", you can hear, now talk!~_

"I-I don't know exactly… All I remember is this sweet smell and whispers of luxury… everything else is fuzzy."

"You were lured in?"

"...i was?... I WAS!" the beguiling girl shouts, rising up. "It's coming back to me now! I'm not a servant of that perverted freak! I'm an existence drifting in the sea of humanity's souls… my real name… is Pixie! Thank you so much for helping me remember!"

_~no… problem?~_

"I know! I'll help you guys out however I can!" Pixie finished, glowing in a white light before changing into a white mask. Said mask then floated towards Joker and phased into the mask he was wearing.

"What was that just now" Mona asked, "what happened!?"

"H-how should we know!?" Skull yelled back. "The enemy just got sucked into Joker's mask!"

"Halt Intrude-" a few guards said, but was promptly staggered by Noir throwing a random chair at it.

"No time to worry about that now!" the five prepared themselves as the guards morphed into another set of two horned horses.

"someone do something!"

**_~If I may interject.~ _**Arsene chimed in, materializing near his user. **_~I do believe our new guest would like to have a spin this time.~_**

"Guest?" Joker asked, suddenly the voice of the Pixie from earlier echoed through his mind.

"_Yeah, these guys are weak to lightning. I can take 'em on for ya!"_

"Alright, let's see if this works… Change! Pixie!" Arsene disappeared back into Joker's mask as the new Pixie materialized in his stead, further shocking the group in awe. "Zio!" a fast bolt of Lightning shot out from her hands as one of the Bicorns was electrocuted, slouching down in pain.

"I-is that the shadow from earlier!? Wait… did you take in the shadow's appearance and powers as a persona!?"

"Guys, Use Lightning attacks, they're weak to it!"

"Lightning… lightning.. Oh, here we go!" Noir exclaims, shuffling her deck of slips in hand before settling on one. "Maz...ion...ga!" she shouts, the card fizzling out as several beams of electricity surged forth, killing both horse shadows in one shot.

"Hot Damn that's powerful!"

"It sure is… hold on… does that mean that Joker can carry multiple Personas!?" Noir yelped.

"...I guess?"

_~that's some grade-A Pokemon shit right there!~_

"... Pokey… Mohn?" Mona questioned. "What's that?"

_~you don't know Po- oooh right… nevermind it then.~_

"Well if you say so…"

"This is good though… normally it's only one persona per person, since they only have one heart. But with this ability, we'll have a huge advantage in battle."

"Hell Yeah! If that's the case, then let's hold up all that we can!"

"C'mon, let's keep going." Joker announced as the group kept forward.

Meanwhile, a few minutes earlier, not too long after the previous group went inside, the empty lot distorted again, revealing Ann, Shiho and Mishima once more.

"W-whoa!"

"I… think you did it Takamaki… what even is this app…?"

"Whoa, this is that place from earlier… h-hey, where'd they go!?"

"They probably already went on ahead…"

"Without us!?"

"C-calm down." Mishima pleaded.

"I know for a fact that THIS is somehow related to that bastard of a teacher! How dare they leave me out of something like this!"

"Ann please, you know they were just trying to keep us safe…"

"Princess?" a new voice spoke, making the three students jump at the sight of a few guards.

"Huh?"

"Guards?"

"Princess! The Beast and head mistress is with her!" the guards yelled, rushing towards the three.

"Aaaaaah!" both girls screamed, Mishima instinctively moved in front of them as the guards surrounded the three.

Back to the Main group, the five thieves spent nearly half an hour exploring the Palace, with Joker gaining a Mandrake, A Bicorn and a Pyro Jack in addition to collecting various loot from chests and breaking objects. A bit of a ways ahead from their last location, the five were now resting up at a newly discovered Safe room.

"Why the heck are there more shadows than before!?" Skull moaned. "This is starting to get exhausting…"

_~at least we're grinding a lot of Exp.~_

"E...Xp?" Noir asked, confusion overtook her once more.

_~experience. Hey Joker, wanna see your Stats?~_

"Sure thing, maybe we can see their stats as well…"

_~No prob.~_ a ping later, five black boxes appear around Joker, causing the others to gape in awe.

"**Joker"**

**Lv. 12**

**Hp: 402**

**Sp:320**

"**Skull"**

**Lv.12**

**Hp: 419**

**Sp: 299**

"**Mona"**

**Lv. 12**

**Hp: 385**

**Sp: 388**

"**Reaper"**

**Lv. ?**

**Hp:?**

**Sp: ?**

"**Noir"**

**Lv. N/A**

**Hp: N/A**

**Sp: N/A**

_~huh… that's weird… I can't get Noir's stats for some reason…~_

"Okay, hold up… skill slips, unlocking potential, Stats!? Just… what the hell even ARE you anyways?" Skull questioned. "It's obvious you're not human, and you're even more mysterious than the cat!"

"I'm NOT a cat!"

_~...~_

"It's fine, Reaper. You can tell them."

_~but it's embarrassing…~_ Reaper moaned, a light tint of pink flushed on his face. _~...oh fine. Simply put, I'm a god; a higher being made from human cognition and beliefs.~_

"A-a god!?"

"If that's the case then why the hell are you with us!? You could've done everything in a snap with you "God powers" or something!"

_~first off, I'm the god of potential; I'm supposed to manage the limits and full potential of the souls of the living, not throwing around my power to make things easier. And Second… mgh mgh…~_ Arata said, mumbling the last part inaudibly.

"What was that? Sorry, I couldn't hear…"

_~I don't have my full power yet! There, ya happy?~_

"W-why not!?"

Sighing, the god among them floated lazily._ ~due to some crazy shit in the past, the older gods implemented an age rule for the younger ones; we have to reach 1000 year old in order to receive out full power.~_

"Wait…" Morgana intervened. "Aren't you breaking the rules then? Aren't higher beings like yourself not supposed to directly-"

_~imma stop you right there with a no. a major loophole to that age rule is that younger gods-like me- are not fully registered as a full on god in the high heavens. Until we reach 1000, we can do whatever we want. I even went to some of the older gods because of this.~_

"What did they say?"

_~"we know of this little loophole you speak of, and we approve. Young ones like you should appreciate your freedom before bearing responsibility. Now be a good boy and play with your toys for now." was more or less their exact words.~_

"_..."_

"Let's change the subject before we look too deep into this." Joker said, the rest nodding at his proposal.

"Anyways, the reason there are more shadows is because Reaper and I have provoked him earlier…"

_~yeah, our bad… but hey, it was worth it.~_

"Still, he seems to be awfully on guard…"

"So… how exactly are we gonna steal this treasure thing? Do we just take it and run?"

"Don't be hasty, first we need to secure an infiltration route."

"Ah, I see, a safe path to and from the treasure." Noir clarified.

"Oh… cool, so any idea where that might be?"

_~why are you lookin' at me like that? I don't know!~_

"To be honest though, I think we'll need a little more manpower for this…"

"Oh that's bull… you're a god and you can't do something like that? Don't you have some sort of Clar- toy-vent thing to see where it is?"

_~Clairvoyance and no i don't. Not ALL gods are the same, especially us modern gods.~_

Before they could argue further, the group silenced themselves as several voices sounded off on the other side of the room.

"Still, why was the princess in such an odd place? With the Lapdog and Mistress too?" one guard asked.

"Princess?" Skull whispered.

"I could've sworn we were pursuing the readings of an intruder…" another guard echoed.

"It doesn't matter now. We must take them back to King Kamoshida!" a third shouts, the sounds of footsteps echoed down the hallway, leaving the rest to ponder this.

"What were they talking about?"

_~and why do I have a bad feeling about this….~_

"I'll look into it. Just stay here." Mona proposed, sneaking out the room and leaving the four to themselves. It wasn't even a full minute when Mona rushed back in, panic on his face.

"This is bad!" he shouts.

"That was fast!"

"Your friends… Lady Ann, Shiho and Mishima…"

"Spill cat! What about them!?"

"...they were taken by shadows!"

* * *

**And cutting it off here.**

**Part one done, part two is coming soon.**

**Be sure to fave and review if you want.**

**TBC.**


	5. Chapter 4: Triple Trial Pt 2

**Part two go!**

* * *

"WHAT!?" The four other thieves yelled.

"They've been taken by guards, they just past us!"

"But how!?" Skull shouts. "We took them home earlier!"

"Maybe… maybe they have the same app we used to get here. You got it when you first arrived." Akira answered.

"It could be possible…"

"Oh no… don't tell me they got here on their own! Dammit! We let them out for safety and they just came back in by themselves!"

"... an app…" Noir mumbled to herself. _"Maybe that means that I have it as well…"_

"Regardless, this just now changed into a rescue mission! Let's go save them!"

_~Lead the way Mona!~_

Running out the door, the group of five ventured deep within the palace, following the guards that held one of the newly captured intruders. Aside from looting a bit more on the side, killing off a few shadows who got in the way, and having to backtrack a bit, they finally arrived at a door with two muffled screams echoing inside. Killing the last set of guards after they threw in the third intruder, the group of five opened the doors… only to catch the sight of many naked girls lying around the whole room.

"What the hell!?" Skull shouts. "Is _this_ what he thinks of the girl's volleyball team!?"

"How indecent!" Noir added, looking away with a light blush on her face.

"Focus!" Mona hissed. "They're right there!" true to his claim, there in the room with them, was a prone Mishima, Ann and Shiho tied to x-shaped stands and shadow Kamoshida snarling at the newcomers, with shadows of the three students fawning over him.

"Why the hell do you twerps keep coming BACK!?" the ruler yelled in rage.

_~why the hell do you wear a pink mankini, you fuck!?~_

"Please get us down!" Shiho pleaded in terror. "I… I don't want to… to…"

"Just what's all this about!? I'll call the cops on you if you don't let us go right now!"

"I've been disrupted from my private time with my princess and mistress, and what do I find; a set of wannabe doppelgangers!"

_~yeah, we'll be taking them back, if you don't mind. Just… shut up and give them back.~_

"Just where do you get off, talkin' like that to ME of all people!?"

_~I don't know, you tell me.~_

"Enough of your quips, Reaper! We have some hostages to save!"

"Mishima! Are you okay!?" Joker yelled out, helping the blunette up from the floor.

"I-i'm fine, Akira…" he whispered.

"It's Joker in this place…" he whispered back.

"And why are you helping him up? He's a traitorous dog just like the rest of you!"

_~ running around this shitshow wouldn't be called a traitorous thing speedoman.~_

"You don't even know what I'm talking about and you still have the balls to speak to me this way!?" shadow Kamoshida snarked. "You should be aiming your weapons at him; he was the one who ruined your chances of living peacefully."

"What…?"

"...It's true…" Mishima mumbled, looking away with unyielding guilt. "... I did it…I leaked your files to the whole school…."

"WHAT!?"

_~Jesus, Mishima, what the shit!?~_

"I had to…" the blunette continued. "he threatened to go after my mother if I refused…"

"He threatened…"

_~your mom…~_

"For THAT!?" Skull yelled. "Now I'm really gonna kill your ass!"

"S-Skull! No killing remember!"

"First, he broke my leg and ruined the track team on purpose, then he abuses and molests the volleyball teams, now he's going after people's Loved ones!? Aw HELL NO!" Skull roared, raising his Metal Pipe.

"What's the point anyways? He just sat there and obeyed like the little bitch that he was, just like little Shiho here."

"W-wha?"

"I bet you just followed around because that's the only thing you're good for; following others."

_~Fuck off, ya nutjob! Leave her out of this!~_

"A wannabe bitch, a worthless waste of space and a wimpy coward; the trifecta of unbearable!"

"Alright, that's enough! Zorro! Garu!"

_~right away!~ _ the spaniard outlaw echoed, materializing and swinging his blade, but was intercepted by a few of the guards.

"Kill them!" Shadow Kamoshida ordered. "But keep the girls alive; I might give them _some_ reason to keep living before their execution."

"No!"

"P-Please help!"

_~Fuuuuuuuu-~_ Reaper yelled back, flying away as a group of guards dogpiled him again. This time, however, he got himself out… _~Nice try you- Baaagheaha!~_... only to get knocked over yonder to the far side of the room!

"Reaper!"

"Crap, Not again!"

"O-oh my…" and once more, the group of thieves were surrounded by shadows.

"no...No…" Mishima stuttered, looking on at the scene before him, tears leaking from his eyes as he seemingly struggled in place. "I… have to help… but… but…"

"_~familiar, isn't it?~"_ a calm, smooth voice echoed within his ears _"~ standing here, gazing into the eyes of those you care for taken hostage in a dangerous scenario… it's just like her way back then…~"_

"n-No.. NO!"

"_~You want to help, but your fear of the past haunts you into silence… but that is merely a fabrication. You want to help them, do you not? Then throw away this fearful facade.~_

Meanwhile, Shiho looked onwards at the very same scenario.

"No… is this… how I die? Being worthless to the end? I couldn't help anyone… I couldn-"

"_she's doing whatever she can do for your sake! Don't throw that all away! Don't throw HER away!"_ Ryuji's words from before echoed through her mind.

"No.. Ann, I don't want to throw her away… Not now.. Or ever.…"

"_**~then don't~"**_ a feminine voice entered her mind. _**"~ don't call it quits just yet, there are still things you've yet to achieve on your own… you say you have no meaning? Then grab fate by the reigns and make up your own!~"**_

While this was going on, Ann looked at the approaching knights, swords raised, in fear.

"Is this.. How we're going to die? My punishment for… what happend to Shiho…? " she whispered. "Shiho… I'm so sorry…"

"Ann! Mishima! Shiho! Don't give in!" Joker shouts, backstepping from a guard swinging his blade.

"Huh?"

_~this asshole's just making you feel bad! You guys can do this!~_

"Don't let this Dickbag get you down… we can do this… Together!" Skull shouts, blasting some of them back with Zio.

"... you're right." all three students answered simultaneously.

"Letting this piece of shit toy with me… what was I thinking…!?"

"Letting others walk all over me… that's isn't the way to go..."

"Letting people say I'm worthless… I-I'm not worthless..."

"Quit your bitchin'! slaves should behave an-"

"SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!" all three shouts together.

"I've had enough of this…"

"I'm not worthless… and I won't take it from anyone anymore!"

"I'm done with this… No more wussing out!"

"_~right answer. But of course it was; I know you better than anyone else. Now why don't you have your brawns join your brains like they're meant to be?~"_

"_**~splendid! This is only the first step, now come forth, your journey shall be legendary!~"**_

"_~My… it's taken far too long…~"_ a third voice said, echoing through Ann's mind, all three writhed in pain at the voices in their heads.

"_~tell me… who's going to protect her if you don't?... forgiving him was never an option...such is the scream of the other you that dwells within…~"_

"_~I __a__**m**__ t__h__**o**__u, __t__**h**__o__u__**a**__r__t__**I**__~"_

"_**~Take up thy soul and pierce the world to victory, cry out thy name in pride and glory~"**_

"_~Succumb to thy fury and help the helpless… just like you did all those years ago…~"_

"_~we can finally forge a contract… and end this man's reign once and for all…~"_

"I hear you… Carmen." Ann whispered. "You're right… no more holding back!"

"Right… no more… I won't forgive you… I will NEVER FORGIVE YOU!" Mishima roared, unyielding rage poured out the male as he bared his fangs at the shadow.

"I shall prove I am useful… or go down trying… and Nobody is going to stop me!" Shiho screamed with a burning resolve, a burst of blue flames surged through the three, making the two girls free themselves as three masks formed on their faces. A red cat like mask for Ann, a band like mask for Shiho, and a demon looking mask for Mishima.

"_~there you go… nothing can be resolved by restraining yourself. Understand, then I'll gladly lend you my strength!~"_

"_**~ very good. Now, Take up thy weapon and strike the wicked, for the glory of thy life!~"**_

"_~Another spectacular answer. Now go! Raise thy fists and paint the world RED!~"_

"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGH!" All three screamed, ripping off their masks with blood flying everywhere, soon all three burst into azure flames, forming a triad of infernal light.

"WHAT THE HELL!?"

_~OH SHIT!~  
_"Not Again!" Kamoshida whimpered.

The light faded down with astonishing results; three more entities were now seen within the room. One had the appearance of a femme fatale dancer, dressed in a luxurious red gown with two humanoid puppets with heart shaped heads chained together near her. The second, a female knight with various knives, plates and an odd looking curved spear in her hands. The last of the three appeared to be a teen male with glasses wearing a cross between a wizard's garb and a strategist uniform, various floating hand like contraptions orbited around the male.

That wasn't the only change, however, all three students stood triumphantly, each wearing different sets of clothing entirely. Ann's was changed into a vermillion skin tight leather suit with a cat like tail, Mishima took on the appearance of a monk fighter's gi with a demonic looking set of features, and Shiho's change of clothing looked to be a cross between a kunoichi garb and a knight's armor, with most of it ninja esque with added knight greaves, pads, and breastplate.

"Arise, Joan of Arc!, I call upon thee to strike down my foe!" Shiho commanded, the knight being bowed in response. A light shone on her hand seconds later, revealing an odd looking crossbow in her grasp.

"Kamoshida! I will desecrate your corpse when I'm done with you!" Mishima growled, his fist glowed a dark purple as he stalked towards the terrified shadow.

"Alright, let's take them all down Carmen!" Ann shouts, the femme fatale nodding in agreement. "You've taken everything from us… you tried to destroy us… now it's your turn!"

"Joan! Rapid Fire! Save our friends!"

"Artemis! Fury Fist!"

"Agi Carmen!

Waves of light beams, energy fists, and fireballs flew everywhere in the room, killing off most of the shadows, and leaving behind only the shadow king, his gold knight and a few stragglers.

"I'll put an end to your reign… I'll rob you of everything!"

"How dare you… enough of your insolence!" the gold knight and straggling guards morphed into… a demon sitting on a toilet… (I wouldn't have made it up if i tried)

"Huh… uuwaahahha!" Kamoshida yelped in fright, running out the room and leaving the pooping demon to the eight fighters.

"How dare you deny king Kamoshida's love, you selfish lass!? Pay for your insolence with your lives!" the demon bellowed.

"That dirtbag just sees women as sexual outlets!" Ann retorted. "Don't make me laugh with this "love" bullshit!"

"Come closer so i can clog up that toilet with your face, you scumbag!" Mishima growled, clenching his fists readily.

"Let's defeat this monster!" Shiho exclaimed, aiming the crossbow

"Yeah! Let's give 'em Hell!"

_~mind if we joined!?~_ Reaper announces ,the earlier five joining the group…

"Knock 'em down! AGI!"

"Zio!"

"FURY FIST!"

"Eiha!"

"Garu!"

"Frei...La!"

"Rapid Fire!"

_~Kouha!~_

A multitude of attacked came all at once, and overcame the squatting fiend, while it wasn't enough to kill it outright, it was able to stagger the foe.

"Now! All out attack!" Mona said as he, Joker, Skull and Reaper lunged at the demon, damaging him every which way, in the middle of this, Mishima joined in, followed by Noir, Ann and Shiho. Soon everyone was dealing massive damage to the demon, which was, this time, able to finish off the shadow.

"I-impossible…" the demon bellowed, dissolving into black ashes as it breathed its last breath.

"H-hey! Where'd that perverted freak run off to!?" Ann shouts.

_~the wuss ran out on us when we were fighting that shit demon!~_

"Hurry Afte-" Mishima barely got out before slumping down to one knee. "W-what's happening!?"

"O-Oh no…" Shiho mumbled, nearly collapsing herself.

"What's going on!?"

"You've probably used up all your energy for the awakening to your persona and fighting the shadow…"

"More importantly!" Skull intervened. "Why'd you come here!? We took you guys out for your own safety!"

"Hey, is that how you speak to a lady!?" Mona shouts back, once again causing the two to initiate another squabble.

" by the way… what is that thing? Is it alive…? How can it talk?"

"And… where the hell are we!?"

"Calm down. I have some friends who'll explain everything. We just need to get to a door." Joker announced, pulling out the velvet room key and walking to the door from earlier.

_~everything's fine now, so don't worry.~_

"How are we supposed to calm down!?"

"... is now a good time to go over our new outfits?" Shiho asks, causing the three to look down at themselves in shock and curiosity.

"Why am I dressed like this!? When did I-"

_~you're just now noticing the clothes change!?~_

"Ugh, what's with this!?"

"I said calm down." Joker said, walking back to the group. "I've opened our gateway. Let's take this conversation to a more… fitting place."

* * *

"Welcome back Trickster and friends." Philemon greeted. "Once again, you have graced us with more comrades. I see that most of them have awakened to their power."

_~Yeah, it was kind of unexpected, but not entirely unwanted.~_

"I see… and I presume you want me to address the situation to your newfound comrades?"

"Would you mind?"

"Not at all, Trickster, anything that aids your quest will take top priority, whether it's explanation or execution... Now, If you mind, go speak with Igor; he is over there with a present we've made for you. I shall inform your new guest on your predicament."

Nodding, Akira, Ryuji Morgana and Arata (they're not in the palace anymore, so real names now) walked over to the far side of the room, locating the butterfly next to a separate table with about four chairs next to it.

"Greetings, Trickster, and to you as well Chariot, Morgana and Reaper."

_~Hey Igor.~_ Arata greeted._ ~Phil mentioned something about a present you two made, then told us to come to ya.~._

"Indeed we have. I present to you; the Inhibitor Ring." The old butterfly scooted off to the side, revealing a single black ring with a blue stone on the top. "Apologies, this is the only one we've managed to make so far. It will be the very thing that grants you access to one of our new facilities for you; the power of synchronization."

"Oh, Yeah… you said that we needed more spirits to have access to the facilities… did that have to do with my Wild Card ability?"

"Indeed Trickster. The powers of the Wild Card are numerous, but a common ability of this power is the capture and usage of spirits. They take take the form of Personas for you to use. I assume you already have a few?"

"Yeah we do!" Ryuji cheered lightly. Akira nodded and opened his palm, then focussed as several masks appeared out of his hand.

"As expected of the Trickster. Let's see… a Pixie, a Bicorn, a Pyro Jack, and a Mandrake, not a bad starting collection."

"You mentioned other facilities including this synchronization thing, could you tell us more about it?" Morgana asked.

"Of course; our three facilities are relatively new, so even we aren't able to fully utilize it's maximum usage at the moment, but they will still be useful nonetheless. Synchronization, the first facility, will center around this ring. As long as you wear it, then you will be able to synchronize with a persona, granting the user with even more power. I shall explain more when the time is right. The next facility, Dismantling, is a bit unfortunate, but necessary. It requires you to take a persona and break it down, granting you items, ingredients and even some miscellaneous additions as well. However, you will lose the Persona forever."

"Wow really?"

"Yes, it is a bit like one of our older facilities, however this is one of two ways you can gain ingredients, which is used for the third facility; Assimilation."

"Assimilation…?" Ryuji repeated.

"Correct, by using special items, Ingredients we call them, you can enhance and upgrade a Persona, weapon, armor, and even certain abilities manually. There are two types of ingredients, normal ingredients for enhancing and catalysts for upgrading, and two ways to obtain them, by dismantling or finding them in the world."

"...um… "

_~One lets you combine with your persona, the second breaks it down into items and stuff, and the third uses some items to make them stronger.~_

"Ah… right."

"Hmm… what do you lot think?" Akira asked the floating masks.

"_I'm ready for anything!" "Jack wants to help master!" "as unfortunate as it is, I shall do what I must if it's to aid you." "Uhn… Uhn.."_ the four additional persona answered.

"Alright. I'll use these facilities, but only on those who volunteers for it; I'm not going to do it if they don't want to." Akira continued.

"As expected of the champion of humanity. Well then, I shall begin the operation."

_~wait, you can do that?~_

"I may have my power sealed away, but that does not mean i am truly powerless." Igor answered. "Let us begin…"

After a few minutes of going over the procedure, dismantling Pyro jack and Mandrake, and enhancing Arsene, who gained two rare abilities called Drain Bless and Deathtika, (Igor mentioned something about specific ingredients for specific persona can bring forth never before seen power.) the four persona users reunited with the other four after Philemon finished speaking to them. With a few more minutes of adding their input and plan to the mix, everyone's conversation now turned to a new topic.

"Hey… are you guys alright?" Akira asked.

"Y-yeah… it's a lot to take in." Ann answered.

"Demiruge… Wild Card… Confidants? I can't keep up with this info." Mishima groaned, Shiho nodding in agreement.

"I agree with that, but still, you're being used in a rigged gamble… and the whole world's at stake. I can't just let that stand now that I know of this." Haru continued.

_~Yeah, and as Phil probably already mentioned, we can literally weaponize friendship to beat him.~_

"I know that too, it's just…" Ann replied.

"Just what?" Ryuji egged on.

"E-everything's happening so fast… I don't know if I can readily accept you as a friend THAT quickly."

"Wha-"

"Can it, moron, she said THAT quickly." Morgana hissed.

_~Then you just need a little time to get to know him first, right?~_

"Pretty much… Arata right?" Ann nodded. "I know this may sound selfish… and wrong given the situation, but.."

_~Hey, hey, you don't have to force a relationship to happen. Besides, that won't work anyway; the bond needs to be genuine.~_

"Thanks, I know this isn't the right time, with your life and the world at stake, but I'll still help whenever I can."

"Same here." Shiho added. "You lot saved me from making a big mistake… I wish to thank you by helping you in this game your in."

"I agree. I… I may have ruined your chances at Shujin, but I promise. I'll do whatever it takes to atone for what I did." Mishima stated. All of a sudden, a warm feeling washed over the group, and Akira heard the same voice from before…

_I am __**thou**__, thou art I…_

_Thou has acquired __**new**__ vows…_

_they shall __**become**__ the wings of rebellion,_

_That __**breaketh**__ thy chains of captivity…_

_With the __**births**__ of the Lovers, Moon, and Knight arcana,_

_I have obtained the winds of __**blessing**__ that _

_shall lead to freedom and__** new**__ power_

_~Aaaaand we don't have to worry about that anymore anyways.~_

"And you know this… how?"

_~Soul Pact with Kira here. We practically share each other's souls. Comes with some risks, but it's worth it of you find the right person.~_

"That reminds me… I've still got some questions." Ryuji proclaimed, looking at the male. "Just how long have you and Kira been together?"

_~around like 5... yeah, 5 years.~_

"How?"

_~...well… maybe another time I'll go over the full story, but long story short, he saved my live twice, he almost died in an accident, and I repaid my debt to him by forging a Soul pact and saving him. We've been friends since.~_

"...wow.. I… damn."

"Yeah, we don't really talk about it much."

"You said that the bond has to be genuine…" Mishima asked. "How could you tell when it's formed?"

"Well… I get this warm feeling inside me, then I hear a lady's voice…"

"A voice…" Igor whispered.

"It tells me that I've birthed something called an Arcana, then I feel stronger a few moments afterwards. It happened with Ryuji and Morgana."

_~I'm able to hear it too, because of the soul pact, and with the bonds forged, I can see your souls a lot more clearly, just enough for my to unlock some of your potential.~_

"That's… useful…"

Maybe you should return to your world." Philemon intervened. " you all must be exhausted after the events of today. We shall continue this in the next time that we meet."

"Yeah…"

_~See ya guys.~_ Arata waved off, the group of eight leaving the room.

* * *

"So, now that we're back…" Ryuji started, an eerily sweet tone in his voice.

_~Oh god, what are you thinking about Boy!?~_

"Time for a well deserved rage. And I know just the thing." Ryuji continued in the same sweet voice, which turned more monotoned as he went on.

"L-Look Ryuji, I-i know that we've disrespected your intentions, but… Ryuji?" Ann stuttered, but looked in confusion as Ryuji turn and walked off. "Did...did he just ignore me?"

"..."

"... wait…. OH CRAP!" MIshima yelled in panic, which prompted the Blonde to full on sprint in the direction he was going.

_~What? What's going on!?~_

"That's the direction of the PE faculty room!" Mishima shouts, running after the Blonde. A few seconds of realization cause the rest of them to follow suit.

"Dammit Ryuji!"

_~Oh goddammit, why now!?~_

"Ryuji, don't do something stupid!"

"Ryuji… RYUJI!?"

"Sakamoto, Please think about this!"

"KAMOSHIDA!" Ryuji roared, practically kicking open the door, the rest of the group joined shortly after.

"What do you want now, kid; I'm busy!"

"You bastard! Don't play it off like it never happened! We know what you tried to do with Shiho! AND for what you did to Mishima!"

"That is enough!" Kamoshida snapped, facing the group. Arata and Morgana suppressed a snicker at the teacher's half bandaged face.

"What you did… wasn't coaching… it was torture…" Mishima whispered.

"What did you say, boy?"

"You ordered me to call Suzui here…You tortured us… all of us.. On purpose!"

"You didn't stop there either…" Shiho chimed in behind the males. "You...you tried to..to…"

"What do you got to say for yourself!?"

"You're going on and on about things you have no proof of."

_~Sakamoto, don't you FUCKIN' dare say shit about our recordings.~_

"But." Morgana protested.

_~shush! He doesn't know that we recorded stuff yet! Let's keep it that way.~_

"You're simply just making stuff up because you're jealous that you aren't on the team, right?"

"Like hell i'd ever want to be in anything with you in it!"

"That's not what this is about and you know it!" Mishima growled, his rage seeping into his voice.

"Even if that's true- hypothetically speaking- what are you gonna do about it? A delinquent, a criminal, a wuss, an three ladies who should've minded their own business."

"Say that to my face you Asshole!" Ann yelled, Haru and Shiho holding her back.

"Shiho almost died because of you!" Haru added.

"You.. goddamn…!"

"This again?" Kamoshida sighed. "Do I have to act in "self-defense" once more, Sakamoto?"

"Self defe- you broke Ryuji's leg on purpose!?"

"Shut the hell up, you son of a bitch!" Ryuji yelled, readying a fist. Before he threw a punch, however, Akira grabbed it in the nick of time.

"Why're you stoppin' me!?"

"Don't Ryuji, it's what he wants you to do!" Akira answered. "Don't let him get to you."

"Oh? You're stopping him? What a surprise." the teacher gloated. "There's no need to hold back. C'mon, sock one right here!, just don't be surprised when I hit back!... ohhh, right, you can't. Of course you can't!"

_~Keep talking Speedoman! I'll plug up your Yapper right now!~ _

"Everyone present right now… will be expelled. I'm reporting all of you at the next board meeting."

This declaration promptly surprised all eight members immensely.

"Wha-!?"

"You can't do that!"

"Who'd seriously consider what scum like you say? You're just as responsible as these idiots are Mishima. A shame that three beauties will suffer the same fate as you clowns. Enjoy your last few weeks here while you can!

"W-wha!?"

"Don't act innocent; you were the one who leaked his criminal records, didn't you?"

"YOU threatened to go after my FAMILY if I didn't do as you said!"

"I don't have time for this, I've got expulsion papers to prep! Your futures are mine to take. Now get out of my sight!"

"You're not getting away with this, Asshole!" Ryuji roared, everyone practically dragging the blonde out the room.

* * *

After spending the rest of the day calming down Ryuji (and to a lesser extent Mishima), exchanging numbers and Text I.D.s, and pawning off all the stolen loot they've acquired, Akira, Arata and Morgana finally made it to leblanc's. However, there was a rather interesting addition to the usually empty cafe. Sitting in one of the booths of the coffee shop was a woman in a punk-rock style outfit, chatting it up with Sojiro.

"Thanks again for the coffee, Sojiro. This really made my day." the woman thanked, the barista in question nodding before noticing the three.

"Ah, you're back early…" the old man stated.

"Hey Soj, mind introducing me to the kid?"

"Kid, this is Tae, she runs a clinic near here. Tae, this is Akira, I'm his ward for the year." he sighed. "Why don't you head on upstairs? I'll clean up down here kid."

"Nice to meet you kid." Tae greeted.

"Likewise." Akira replied, nodding.

_~My god, this is awkward…~_

"Well, like Soj here said, I run a clinic near here. that being said, don't come running to me for no reason." Tae got up and headed out the door. "Thanks Soj, same time next week?"

"Sure." he answered. "Come back again." and with that, the Barista and the trio were left alone. "Alright kid, shows over, go on and head upstairs."

"Got it…"

Nodding one more time before making it to the stairs, they barely made it to the bed before his phone vibrated. Taking it out, the three joined in the recent chat.

**Ryu:** Hey guys, sorry about earlier…

**Yuuki:** i'm sorry for nearly starting a fight with you.

**Floof: **the important thing is, everyone's calm now.

**Ann:** but that leaves the entirely new problem; our expulsion.

**Yuuki: **don't worry about that.

**RenRen:** ...why?

**Yuuki:** I've hacked into one of the admin computers at the school… barely…

**Yuuki: **I've managed to find out the date for the next meeting.

**Yuuki:** we have until Feb. 2nd before our expulsion, so if we're doing your palace idea, then we should get it done before the month's over.

**Shiho:** well that's certainly… something…

**Ryu:** plus, it'll get us enough time for at least one more vid for our scapegoat.

**Floof:** scapegoat?

**Yuuki: **what are you on about now Sakamoto?

**RenRen:** We plan on stealing the treasure to make him confess,

**RenRen:** and to make sure we hid our traces of using the metaverse,

**RenRen**: we gather records of his misdeeds to use as a red herring

**Ryu:** that way, people will think he confessed out of guilt instead of us making him.

**Ann:** … that's actually a good idea.

**Yuuki:** how far along are you guys?

**Ryu:** well we got two recordings of volleyball practice…

**Shiho:** and a recording of that… event… from before I presume?

**Ryu:**...

**Shiho:** it's alright, Ryuji. I've connected the dots. Morgana and Arata were the ones who saved me, but I knew they came by for a different reason.

**Ryu:** sorry about that…

**Shiho:** it's fine, as long as that monster gets his just desserts.

"Tell them that we should find a hideout to have our meetings in." Morgana suggested. "We'll need someplace private to discuss our next order of business…"

**RenRen:** Morgana suggests we find a hideout.

**Floof:** ...what about the roof?

**Ryu:** oh yeah… that'll probably do.

**Ann:** why?

**Floof:** Ryuji and I are usually the only ones up there at all.

**Yuuki:** that could work. Alright, let's meet there tomorrow.

After taking away his phone, then three decided to head to bed.

* * *

_Saturday, January 16th_

_Cloudy_

_Shujin Academy_

_Afternoon_

"Just where are those two!?" Ann growled impatiently. Six of the eight thieves were hanging around on the roof, as planned, but surprisingly, Ryuji and Akira were nowhere to be seen.

_~Akira told me to meet up with you guys.~ _Arata shrugged. _~something about losing his log journal.~_

"Log journal?"

_~he's supposed to write down everything he did for the year in a diary. Part of his probation. He made a second journal for the metaverse journey because of something about stress..~_

"Well, that explains Akira, but what about Ryuji?"

Meanwhile, a minute after Ryuji and the others initially left classes, Sadayo Kawakami, the teacher he was in class with for the day, noticed a light vibration in one of the desks. Curiosity flooding through her, the teacher walked over to the table, only to find a simple phone, still on, vibrating inside.

"That Sakamoto…" She rolled her eyes, just before she was about to turn the phone off, however, a particularly curious text on the device caught her eye. "Take down the king? What?"

Looking around the room, she gazed back into the device in her hands. "I really shouldn't be doing any of this…" she whispered, but for some reason, she couldn't look away from the oddly out of place text in front of her. Looking around once more to confirm she was alone, she went back to her desk, and sighed lightly. "Well, maybe just a little bit.." she pressed the text, which opened up a set of messages with some attachments as well.

_(Posted on Jan. 13th)_

**Ryu:** hey man, you guys got anything yet?

**RenRen:** yep, Morgana and Arata got 5 minutes worth, plus a few pics.

_RenRen sent volleycannon (jpeg),torture (jpeg) , and agonysession (mp4)_

**Ryu:** that two faced bastard!

Kawakami nearly dropped the phone at the sight of the pictures. Volleyball members getting brutally bludgeoned by softballs and struck by poles and nets took up the screen. For the sake of her stomach, she scrolled past the video link, not liking the sense of dread from it, and continued reading.

**Ryu:** we'll be able to get that Kamoshita the justice he deserves with this.

**RenRen:** we'll keep trying to get evidence, you can work on finding those who'll testify.

**Ryu:** will do, gotta go.

_(posted on Jan. 14th)_

**Ryu**: any update?

**RenRen:** we got another vid, and some pics of him molesting the girl team.

**Ryu:** what!?

_RenRen sent moreofthis (jpeg), painful (mp4), and perversion (jpeg)_

**Ryu:** that prick's pickin' on both teams… but I never thought he'd try this!

**RenRen:** calm down, we'll get him, just don't blow our cover.

**Ryu: **I know, I know.

Kawakami was even more disgusted at the new set of images, especially the one where Kamoshida was seen sticking his hand in the female member's pants and shirts. Once again, she skipped over the video.

**Ryu:** just a few more, and we'll sent that asshole to jail like he deserves.

_(posted yesterday)_

**RenRen:** Ryuji?

**RenRen:** Ryuji we've got bad news.

**Ryu: **what?

**Ryu:** dude what happened?

**RenRen: **remember Suzui, that friend you mentioned?

**Ryu:** ...yeah, why?

**Ryu:** … Kira? Arata? Morgana?

**Ryu: **you're scarin' me…

_RenRen sent hewillsuffer (mp4)_

**RenRen: **Arata said they'll explain, just meet us near the vending machines.

opting to sate her curiosity one last time, she pressed the last video.. And instantly regretted it. 2 whole minutes of Kamoshida beating and sex assaulting Shiho was the only thing she saw, and the rather hilarious ending of a cat clawing his face ended the shocking post. This time, she almost lost control of herself, but she swallowed back the bile in her throat as she closed out the chat and turned off the phone. Placing it on the desk ,the teacher stared blankly at the room, a million thoughts echoed through her mind.

Just as she began pondering the new information, she heard a rapid set of knocks from the door to her side, a familiar tuft of blonde visible at the window. Panicing for a few seconds, she composed herself.

"Come in!" she shouts, Ryuji opening the door as he looks at the teacher apologetically.

"Sorry, Teach, I think I left my-"

"You left your phone?" she finished for him, gesturing the device neatly on the edge of the desk.

"Oh thank god!" he shouts, pocketing the phone, and thanking the teacher. "Sorry again." he turned to leave.

"Wait… I have a question.." Kawakami hastily answered, silently cursing herself all the while. "What… do you think of the teachers here?"

"Eh?"

"Like, which teacher's your favorite and which one's the worst?"

"That's easy; that shitty gym teacher Kamoshida's the worst… and… if I had to guess… I'd choose you as the best teacher, I guess… well, the one I tolerate the most at least."

"O-oh…"

"W-Well, gotta go, thanks for finding my phone, bye!" Ryuji yelled quickly, running down the hall, and leaving a stunned Kawakami to herself...

* * *

Makoto Nijima was a lot of things, and she felt like understanding was one of her more prominent traits…

That was before she read the clusterfuck of chaos within this handwritten book she found.

At first, she found the book on the floor in the middle of the hallway, halfway opened and nobody near the object. Curiosity getting the best of her, she took up the book, headed back to the student council office, and decided to read the small book to pass the time. Now she wished she hadn't.

Gods…

Metaverse…

Palaces…

Shadows…

Persona… each page in the book she read added 20 more questions to her ever growing list, and none of it was answered when she got to the supposed end of it… she sighed, mainly because it kinda stopped at one point, which surprisingly made her a bit angry and frustrated. In any other case, she would've passed it off as a partially made fiction… but the surprising amount of detail and familiar names proved otherwise. This little amount information somehow… somehow managed to convince her that it's real, but she wasn't exactly sure if it was, and it frustrated her to no end. She was about ready to chuck it out a window before she bumped into someone…

Who just so happened to be Ryuji.

"Gah! What where you're goin- oh, Ms. Prez…" Ryuji growled, but mumbled when he looked at the person.

"Ah, Sakamoto… my apologies."

"Nah, I'm sorry, I wasn't lookin' where I was going."

"Hmm, well I guess we're both in the wrong then." she stated, her mind practically begging her to ask him. "Actually, I wanted to speak to you about something…"

"Really? I know I'm kinda bombing a few classes, but I'm still-"

"No, no it's not your grades… its something a bit more… personal." Makoto clarified, looking around the hallway. "I just want to know one thing."

"Oh, uh, sure thing… but can this be quick? I've got some friends that I'm supposed to meet up with…"

"Of course. Now…" leaning in, Makoto asked in a serious tone. "I found this journal near Kurusu's locker and I wanted to give it back, but… what I've read in there was astounding. I just wanted to see if everything in it was true or not since quite a bit of it featured you in it, along with this Arata and Morgana. So. what is this all about? Does all of this stuff about Palaces and Persona exists?" she then handed the book over to the blonde. For a strictly brief moment, Makoto saw a small but noticeable twinge of fear and panic on the male's face, but he managed to compose himself as quickly as it started.

"What? Persona? wha-OH, that." Ryuji started, surprisingly not a single stutter in his voice. "Now I remember, Akira wanted to make a game about gentleman thieves. I suggested he made a story first beforehand, and to use real life people as placeholders for when we make characters for it."

"A...game?"

"Yeah, I even suggested to use our names in it for now. Arata and Morgana are just names of his friends from his hometown."

"I see…" Makoto trailed off, she knows damn well that Ryuji was lying his ass off, but she said nothing about it.

"Well, thanks for finding it for him, prez I'll be sure to give it back to him!" Ryuji yelled, continuing his race down the corridor. Once again alone in the hallway, Makoto sighed in anew mixture of feelings. She knows that this stuff exists, and even knew that Ryuji made that lie to cover it up, but unless she had proof of what they're trying to do with it, she couldn't be fully satisfied. Also this could be potentially dangerous to other people, and that was something she wasn't going to let go. So with nothing else to do, Makoto followed after the Blonde.

* * *

**And the second part is complete! Now Kawakami and Makoto are starting to get in on this and we're well over the halfway point. Can this continue? Probably.**

**Anyways, for those who're curious as to why I pumped out these chapters in rapid succession is because I have some form of reference-the actual game- to go off of. All my other fics are either originally created plot-wise or having a lack of reference for it, meaning it very loosely follows canon. **

**Also, an update for the persona speak!:**

_~hello~ _= Arata

_**~hello~**_ = Arsene

_~hello~_ = Zorro

_**~hello~**_ = Kidd

"_~hello~"_ = Carmen

"_~hello~"_ = Artemis

"_**~hello~"**_ = Joan

**And the updated list of PTs:**

**Guaranteed-**

**Mishima**

**Shiho**

**Kawakami**

**Sojiro**

**Natsu (oc)**

**Yuki (oc)**

**? and ? (you'll see later on)**

**Hifumi**

**Tae**

**Sort of (debating)- **

**Tae**

**Sae**

**Yoshida**

**Shinya**

**Iwai**

**Chihaya**

**?**

**Probably gonna calm down a bit on this fic for now. Don't forget to like and review.**

**TBC**


	6. Chapter 5: Synchronization

**Continuing onwards!**

* * *

"I can't believe you left your phone!" Ann shouts at the fellow blonde. Said blonde softly glared at the two other males at the side.

"I can't believe _you_ lost your Journal." Ryuji grumbled. "What the hell man!? We almost got busted by ms. Prez!"

"Sorry, I didn't know…" Akira said defensively.

"You're lucky I fixed that situation. Here." Ryuji then tossed the book at the bespectacled male. "If prez asks, then it's a story for a videogame you're making."

"Hmm… not a bad idea Monkey." Morgana snided.

"Eff off with the monkey crap, cat."

"Stop calling me a cat!"

"Stop callin' me a damn monkey!"

"NEVER!"

"FOCUS YOU IDIOTS!" Mishima yelled, silencing the two. "Now then, we have more or less 2-3 weeks left before we get expelled, so what do we know about the castle so far?"

"I… may have a theory." Haru chimed in, gaining everyone's attention. "If this school is how Kamoshida sees as his castle and vice versa, then wouldn't it be somewhat logical that it shares the same layout? Or if not, then something similar?"

"..."

"That's actually not that bad of a theory…"

"We'll check over there the next time we get a chance to." Akira announced.

"Wait, we're not going this time?"

"No, we need supplies." Morgana clarified. "Who knows what's going to happen in the palace. It's better if we prepared."

_~That reminds me, we need Codenames for you three.~ _Arata said, looking at the new thieves.

"Oh, Right." Ryuji snapped his fingers. "Let's see…how abou-"

"If you say something inappropriate, Sakamoto, then I will slap the shit out of you." Ann warned.

"I was going to call you Panther."

"Panther?"

"Yeah, because of your mask and outfit reminds me of one."

_~Ryuji's got a point.~_

"Well then what about me?" Shiho asked, getting silence for a few seconds before Arata answered.

_~Shinobi. You kinda looked like a ninja with extra armor back there.~_

"Shinobi… I like the sound of that."

_~and for Mishima…~_

"No need; I've already picked my name."

"You did?" Akira replied.

"Yep. when we're in the palace, you can call me Akuma."

_~Akuma… nice, it fits you… surprisingly.~_

"Well with that out of the way." Ryuji interrupted. "Let's get back to supplies. I think we should split up for buying stuff."

"Wow, Ryuji, you're on fire with these ideas today." Akira complimented.

"Thanks. Anyways, there's 8 of us, so we'll split up into 2 groups. Akira, Arata, Morgana and I'll secure some gear. You four can buy provisions and healing items."

"Healing… items?" Haru asked.

"Basically buy some generic medicine and first aid stuff." Morgana clarified. "They work a lot differently in the metaverse."

"Ah, I see."

"Well then, let's break for now. I'm beat." Ryuji yawned, "we'll start our gear hunt tomorrow."

Nodding at this, the group called their first meeting an went their separate ways, none of them noticing Makoto, who was hiding, at all.

"Videogame my ass… just what are you lot up too…" Makoto mused.

* * *

_Sunday January 17th_

_Cloudy_

_Leblanc's _

_Evening_

Arriving at Leblanc's once more, Sojiro greeted the group with the same routine. A minute or two later, the group of three arrived to their room and set off into sleep.

…

…

…..

Waking up once more to the sounds of chains, Both Arata and Akira found themselves in the same prison like velvet room. The three residents stared at the two.

"We meet again, Trickster and friend." "Igor" greeted.

_~so we did, hunchback.~_

"Quiet you!" Caroline snarled.

"You may be wondering why I have summoned you here, correct? I have noticed that you have acquired a massive addition to your team. So allow me to congratulate you first and foremost. It seems you have remembered my words. You truly make it worth rehabilitating you."

"What do you mean…" Akira deadpanned.

_~We still have questions.~_

"I am not attempting to withhold information from you." He chuckled. "The essence of the rehabilitation that you must complete will be explained in due time. "Once you discover allies who share your aesthetics and discover your place in reality… only then will I explain it all."

"And from the looks of it, you two may get that explanation sooner than you think." Caroline chimed in.

"We were quite surprised when it happened as well." Justine added. "It is pretty rare to experience multiple awakenings at once."

"It's kinda strange though… one of them didn't awaken yet."

"... that must be Haru…" Akira whispered.

_~seems like it, she's the only one without a persona…~_

"Indeed, I would suggest that you aid in her awakening, lest she becomes more of a liability than an ally." "Igor" addresses. "It would be a shame if one of your confidants met their demise so soon."

_~we'll get right on that.~_

"Please see to it that you do. Now girls, bring out the equipment. It is time we introduce them to the aid we are providing." nodding at the command, the two tiny wardens left the room somehow, confusing the two inmates. That confusion grew with a slight hint of fear when they came back with two guillotines and a chainsaw.

_~what is that!? What the fuck is that!?~_

"Uuuuh…" akira stammered.

"You need not worry Trickster, this is purely for our method of the privilege I'm giving to you; the power of fusion." the hunchback clarified. "Due to your power of the wild card, you are able to wield more than one persona. That power holds infinite possibilities, we will assist you in nurturing that potential. Caroline will lead the charge for this facility for you. Caroline?"

"Yes sir." she saluted, turning to the two. "Alright listen up inmates, because I'm NOT repeating myself."

_~fine, fine. What's all this for Carol?~_

"Stop calling me- you know what, nevermind." she shook her head frustratingly. "Fusion is pretty simple in execution; you take two persona and we'll merge them into a new one. Justine and I'll go over the basic rundown on the fused one before the fusion, so you won't be completely blind to what you'll get."

"Be aware though that the process is not guaranteed to work successfully. There is a chance that you may get a completely different one by accident." Justine added.

_~oh great, so not even you guys know what we'll get completely…~_

"Those odds are very rare, however, so you need not worry for the time being."

"Well that's reassuring."

"Let's do this already. You _do_ have more persona, don't you?" Caroline said, looking expectantly. Opening up his hand, Akira focused on his palm as two white masks appeared above it, orbiting around each other.

"Will these do?" Akira asked, handing the two persona over to the wardens.

"Yeah, this'll work. Let's see… a pixie and a bicorn, huh?"

"This will grant you the persona Shiisaa." Justine walked over to the two inmates and showed them her clipboard, a flash of light later, and a picture of the persona in question, along with various information on it, appeared on the front page.

"Hmm… this could work nicely… but."

"What's the problem!? You have the requirements, so what's stopping you?" Caroline shouts.

_~we're a little put off by the instruments of death you're standing next to.~_

"Are you two okay with this?" Akira asks.

"Of course we a-"

_~not you two; Pixie and Bicorn.~_

"What? Of course they are!"

"I just want to make sure. I want their consent before i go through with this."

"_**Of course master. I told you I'd help out, and I'm gonna help no matter what."**_the voice of pixie echoed into his mind, followed by Bicorn's voice as well. _"As I have said before, I'll do whatever it takes for master."_

_~looks like they agree.~_

"See!? Now stop polyfoxing and bring them over here already!"

Taking both masks, Justine reunites with her twin as they prepared the fusion process.

_~I can't watch…~_ Arata covered his eyes, but then peeks out of one of them.

_***SSHHHHHKK!***_

The sound of metal sliding down and flaying flesh echoed throughout the room, but what shocked to two prisoners were the flash of lights, strong winds blowing through their cell, and a new voice echoing through Akira's mind.

"Me Shiisaa. You have mask... You and me... Don't worry, be happy!" the new voice yipped happily.

"Alright that's how it goes." Caroline shouts. "Simple and fast, so don't bother hesitating."

"A stronger persona has been born from the body and blood of the old, which shall become your new strength." "Igor" added in. "Gather personas and bring them here. Gather them, execute them, and continue to give birth to stronger personas. Developing these powers of your will play an integral role in your stand against ruin."

"So that your rehabilitation goes well, we have a variety of rituals to choose from regarding execution." Justine continued, Caroline followed soon after.

"And depending on your efforts our master might consider further development of new rituals for you to use. Go on and cry for joy inmates"

_~yeah, we get it kid.~_

"Who're you calling a KID!?" Caroline hissed ferally, somewhat triggered by the short jab.

_~I'm callin' __**you**__ a kid, midget.~_

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME COW FUCKER!"

_~language, child! You deserve a time out __little__ missy!~_

"Oh you are DEA-"

"CAROLINE!""ARATA!" Both Akira and Justine shouts, silencing the two bickering beings.

"Hmm, it seems that this might be more entertaining than I thought." "Igor" chuckled lightly at the events unfolding. "That being said, I have a gift that I have prepared a gift for you. I hope that you shall accept it." A black orb of light appeared in front of Akira and phased into his body, a feeling of strength coursed through his soul. "You now have the ability to see things that are normally invisible to the common eye; a third eye, if you will. That is all I wish to speak to you about for now, there is one more thing I wish to say, but you'll find that out _very_ soon."

"I don't like the sound of that…"

_~I'm pretty sure that's an understatement…~_

Both sighed as the world around them faded into darkness, the last they saw were three mischievous smirks.

* * *

_Monday 18th_

_Cloudy_

_Shujin academy_

_After school_

After spending the entirety of sunday getting model guns and weapons, some light armor and accessories, and reuniting with the others who got loads of their supplies, the group of eight survived through the seemingly endless classes for the whole school day. Now that school was over, the group of eight stood by the entrance of the school, hiding to the side of the building. A few moments later, they were now back at the front of the palace.

"Alright, let's get to work!" Skull shouts.

_~wait a minute!~_ Reaper said, grabbing Skull by the collar._ ~aren't you forgetting something?~_

"Huh… OH right!" Skull jumps, handing over a tommy gun to Panther. "Here ya go."

"We got these for surprisingly cheap." Joker added, handing Akuma a set of Tonfa, Noir a battle axe, and Shinobi a small crossbow.

_~now that you all are sufficiently armed… NOW we can get to work.~_

"Just to be safe, we'll break off into two teams." Mona joined in. "it'll be a nightmare to manage eight people at once, so we'll split up into a vanguard and rearguard."

"So we're splitting up?" Panther asked.

"Not entirely; four of us will lead the charge in exploration, while the others will follow behind a good distance away."

"Hmm… sounds good." Akuma nodded, a few minutes of deciding later, Joker, Skull, Mona and Reaper decided to lead the vanguard since they knew more about the place than the others.

"Alright, let's head on out." Joker said, the group now entering the palace ahead.

...

...

2 hours and 45 minutes, that's how long they explored the palace, after going around, solving random puzzles, obtaining more persona and loot, and fighting… something that looks like a slimy penis tip (WHERE'S THE BRAIN BLEACH!?), the group finally, _finally_ made it to the last room of the whole palace.

"Okay, this is the last place we didn't check. Let's go on inside." Skull shouts, Mona climbing to his face and pulling his hair back to get him away from the door.

"Not through the front door, Monkey! We need a different way in." the cat creature chastises the pirate themed thief.

"What about that opening above?" Noir suggested, pointing to the statue at the side, an opening on top.

"See, that's how a phantom thief thinks!"

"Yeah yeah, no need to rub it in cat." Skull complained, growling as the cat claws his ear. As the group climbed up the place, they found a hidden platform for them to stand on, looking down at the main hallway, they sighed in relief when they saw most of the hall littered with guards, the Shadow king yelling at them.

"Oh man, we sure dodged a bullet there." Skull whispered, "Can't believe I'm sayin' this to the cat of all things, but… thanks for stoppin' me."

"No problem, just try not to jump into stuff without thinking first, as impossible as that is for you." Mona quipped.

"Ya see… this is why I don't like complimenting ya."

"We're almost there." Joker interrupted, pointing at the door behind the king. "That must be where it is."

_~well let's get going then.~_ Reaper chimed in, the group sneaking past the army of guards and the bickering King. silently opening the door without alerting them, the group slinked inside, gobsmacked at the sight before them.

Gold, treasure, jewels, the whole room they were in was filled with the sea of valuables, and in the very middle was a weird glowing blob, floating in place at the very core of the room.

"Holy Crap!" Akuma shouts, awestruck by the amount of rare items around him. "I'll be set for life if I sell even a few pocketfuls of this stuff!"

"It's amazing." Shinobi added. "Yet oddly disgusting at the same time."

"It's KamoSHITa's crap, remember!?" Skull argued. "Of course it's disgusting to look at. Pfft, I bet that some of it's fake anyways."

_~I'm more curious about the blobby thing here than anything.~ _Reaper addressed, pointing at the obvious out of place object of the room. _~Hey, Mona? You know anything about this?~_

"Ah HAH! This is it!" Said cat thief grinned cheekily. "This is what we've came for."

_~a floating blob of nothing?~_

"Wha- no. this IS the treasure we seek, now we can initiate phase 2."

"Phase 2?" everyone questioned in sync.

"Right now, we can't steal it since it's technically not here. Desires have no physical form by nature, but if we convince the person that their desire's are in fact a treasure, then we can make it so that we _can_ steal it."

_~right… and how do we do that exactly?~_

"We warn him." Mona answered simply. "Once they're conscious that their desires might be stolen, the treasure will show itself in response. We'll tell them, "We're going to steal your heart." or something like that."

"Oooh, like a calling card?" Noir added in, Mona nodding eagerly.

"Precisely!"

"Aw hell yeah! That's totally what a phantom thief would do!" Skull whooped.

"Once we do that, the treasure will appear for certain!"

"Then our infiltration route is secure!" Shinobi announced. "Let's head back and plan our next course of action for now."

"Right."

"Just be prepared for anything. Once we send the calling card, there's no going back."

* * *

Back in the real world, the group decided to hang out in a local cafe nearby after their success in finding a route. Noticing Haru sitting a bit of a ways away form the group, Arata floated over to the girl.

_~Hey, Haru, You alright?~ _He asked.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm fine."

_~you sure? You could always tell us.~_

"I know… it's just…" trailing off, she handed over a few skill slips to the godling, confusion grew on the boy's face. "I used them all up again…"

_~if that's what's bothering you, then I could always make more…~_

"No, no, it's not that. It's…"

_~it's…..~_

"Am I really providing for the team? With the limited amount of slips you give me, it's only a matter of time before…"

_~hey, hey now, don't go beating yourself up from that.~ _Arata cuts off, not liking where that route was going. _~you're still a vital part of this team, just like the rest of us.~_

"But for how much longer!?" she whispered loudly. "I'm not like you all, I don't have much to protect myself, let alone everyone else… Morgana almost died because I ran out and had to get more…"

_~...~_

"If I'm just going to be a burden when I run out of usefulness, then I-"

_~come with me.~_ he announced, rising.

"W-wha?"

_~hey, Kira. I'm taking Haru out for a tiny bit.~ _he shouts at the group, the raven haired leader nodded. _~come on.~ _He said simply, floating out the door with a confused (and slightly worried) Haru behind him.

Once outside, Arata gestured for her to sit near one of the outer tables. Sitting down, Haru gazed expectantly, like an anxious child anticipating some sort of punishment.

_~So, you think you're useless because we have powers and you don't?~_

"What!? No, it's not exactly like that-"

_~but you're not completely denying it either.~_

"..."

_~it's alright. I'm gonna fix that. Now, close your eyes.~_

Unknowing of what's going on, she did as was told. Arata then placed his hand on her chest as he held one of hers on his chest.

_~I am thou, Thou art I..._

_I grant thou the__** key**__ to thy soul…_

_Thy __**potential**__ shall bring forth a new power…_

_I grant though the tiara of the __**Empress**__…_

_To which thou shall __**create**__ a new prosperous future…~_

A pink light shone around her body as several objects, and even Haru herself, began to rise from the ground, her very irises glowed an eerie pink as several items orbited around the two. When the light faded, Haru looked up at the godling with a weirdly new feeling deep within herself.

"W-what just happened!?" she yells, looking around her.

_~I have awakened a piece of your full potential; you now have power over psychokinesis.~_

"Psycho...kinesis?"

_~you know… like telepathy, psychic power, levitation. All that jazz…~_

"Really?"

_~yep, now you're one of us. Speaking of which, i'm gonna have to borrow you, Ryuji and Morgana this weekend…~_

"... wow.."

_~all you have to do is ask, and we'll help. That's what friends do.~_

"Friends… I… thank you. For this power… for everything…"

_~whoa there, I didn't save your life, I just improved it.~_

"With this gift you gave me, it might as well have… so thank you… I'll make sure I won't be a burden anymore." she smiled at him, to which he smile back. A familiar feeling grew within himself and Arata heard a feminine voice.

_I am thou,__** thou**__ art I…_

_Thou has acquired a new __**vow**__…_

_It shall be the wings of __**rebellion**__,_

_That __**breaketh**__ thy chain of captivity…_

_With the birth of the __**Empress**__ arcana,_

_I have obtained the winds of __**blessing**__ that_

_Shall__** lead**__ to freedom and new power…_

"Hey Arata, we're just about ready to head out!" Akira shouts, the group joining the two outside.

_~Okay cool.~ Arata shouts back. ~Just remember, you, Ryuji and Morgana. Meet me at the school roof on Saturday.~_

"Okay…" Haru nodded, the group went their separate ways afterwards.

* * *

After making back to Leblanc's and following the same routine, Akira checked his phone for the new message that pinged him a few seconds prior.

**Ryu:** you guys home yet? I'm pooped.

**Ryu:** it hit me like a goddamn ton of bricks when I sat down…

**Yuuki:** same here. Mom thought I was in a fight when she saw me collapse in the living room.

**Floof:** are you alright?

**Yuuki:** yeah, I'm fine. Told her that i overworked myself.

**Ann:** well, we did do a whole bunch in the palace…

**Shiho:** it's no surprise that we're exhausted. I just never expected it to be this much…

**Ann:** glad we've found that treasure though…

**Ryu:** so, just to be clear, Kamoshita'll turn a new leaf if we steal the rainbow fart cloud?

**Floof:** rainbow fart cloud?

**Yuuki:** it's up to you when we send the card, Akira.

**Ann:** call us over to the hideout when you're ready.

**RenRen: **got it. Nice work everyone.

**Yuuki:** OH, one more thing I found out.

**Floof, Ryu, and Ann:** what?

**Yuuki:** there's gonna be a new student coming tomorrow, i think her name's Kasumi… something…

**Shiho:** oh no…

**Ryu:** shit, if this newcomer's a girl then that means Kamoshita's gonna have a NEW target if we don't hurry...

**RenRen:** we'll find out more on her, you guys just get ready for tomorrow.

Putting up his phone, the three now got ready for bed.

* * *

_Tuesday, 19th_

_Rainy_

_Shujin Academy_

_Noon_

Akira, Arata and Morgana all have noticed something mainly off about today… first off, the godling noticed that they were being tailed by Makoto Nijima practically everywhere since they got to the building. The only time they managed to lose her was when they went to the restrooms. Second, when they got to the homeroom, Kawakami looked at them with this odd look of pity, worry and… admiration? They were stumped as to why she gave them that look in the first place, well, Morgana and Arata were talking about it in the corner of the room since Kawakami couldn't really see them.

"Alright students, listen up. We have a new student coming today." Kawakami announced, gaining everyone's attention and whispers began flooding the room. "Now I want you all be welcoming to our new addition. You may come in now." she said, the door sliding open seconds later. The newcomer was a sight to behold. A red haired female, whose hair was tied in a ponytail, walked up to the board and wrote her name on it, then turned and introduced herself.

"Hello everyone. I'm Kasumi Yoshizawa. I hope we can get along." the girl, now named Kasumi, stated. Even more whispers echoed around the room.

"Alright, alright. Settle down." Kawakami shouted, calming the growing rumor-storm. "You can take a seat next to… Kurusu's… desk." she then sweatdropped at the fact that the ONLY other empty seat in the entire class was side by side with Akira's. This did nothing but start more rumors.

_~Oh for fuck's sake, this is getting ridiculous.~_ Arata groans, floating next to Akira. _~we get it, you lemmings hate our guts, get over yourselves.~_

Walking over to the empty desk, Kasumi sat down and class continued as normal… well, as normal as you can get with the new girl slightly staring at the air a few times.

Several classed later, Akira, Arata and Morgana was about to make it over to the rooftop, when Kasumi walked up to them.

"Hey, Akira, isn't it?" she asked. "May I have a moment of your time?"

"Uhh… sure?" Akira replied, curious at the new girl's sudden question. Following her to a higher floor, the two ended up stopping at the library.

_~oh, that reminds me, hey kira, mind getting some books on wind, electricity and hypnotism?~_

"Why do you need that?" Morgana whispered at the godling.

_~you'll know why later on.~_

"Okay, here we are." Kasumi stated, taking out a black book from the shelf and reading it.

"Uumm." Akira looked on in confusion, which grew when Kasumi gave him a bottle of water.

"It's not really holy water, but it might work." Kasumi announced, before taking out a piece of paper and copied symbols from the black book she was reading.

"What are yo-" was all Akira said before she slapped the slip of scribbles on his chest. Nothing happened.

_~what is happening right now?~_

"I-it didn't work!?" she yipped, distraught that her two attempts failed so far. "Why is it still there.."

"Just what are you talking about?"

"You can see it too, right?"

"See?" Akira asked.

_~it?~_

"The ghost floating beside you… you can see it too?"

_~ghost? What ghost?~_ Arata questioned, looking over to Akira. _~Kira, did you summon ghosts behind my back?~_

"It knows your name?"

"What are you-..." Akira stopped abruptly, slowly turning to Arata as he slowly pointed to him. "You mean Arata?"

_~hmm?~_

"You named the ghost!?"

_~... WHAT!? I'm Not a Gho-... oooooh crap.~_

Looking at her with wide eyes, Akira stood there stunned as Kasumi took his silence as a yes.

"So you **can** see the ghost! Oh thank god I wasn't going crazy."

_~Hey, I resent that!~_

"Silence, spectral menace, I'm going to free this guy from your-"

"He's not a ghost." was all the male said to stop her in her tracks.

"I- It's not?" she retorted. "How is it NOT a ghost? Just who and/or what is it then?"

_~First off, I'm a boy. Second, I'm Arata, A-RA-TA.~_

"And third, he's a godling."

"A… godling?"

"A young god." a sudden ping vibrated the phone in his pocket. "Crap. I'll talk to you later about that. It was nice meeting you Yoshizawa." the two then fled the library quietly, leaving a stunned Kasumi pondering the current events. Unbeknownst to the three, a third person overheard everything.

"Arata… godling… what's going on…" Makoto whispered as she followed Akira out the library.

Opening the door to the roof, the three people reunited with the rest of the group.

* * *

"Took ya long enough. Where were you man?" Ryuji asked first.

"Sorry, we just had a… surprising visit with the new girl."

_~she thought I was a ghost…~ _Arata grumbled to himself.

"We get it." Morgana groaned at the godling.

"Wait, what happened?"

"Apparently, Kasumi, the new girl in our class, can see Arata… somehow…" Akira clarified.

"Shit, that's bad. What if someone finds out because she snitched on him?"

"Don't worry, I'll focus on that later. Right now, Kamoshida takes priority."

"Right! So, who's gonna send the calling card?" Morgana asked. "All that's left is to make it and send it. Then comes the hard part."

"Couldn't we have just sent one beforehand?" Ryuji asked.

"It's not that simple. A treasure won't stay materialized for long, once the impressions gone, then the treasure will disappear for good. I think it'll last around a day at most."

"That's going to be a tough spot, considering we have all this free time on our hands…" Shiho added.

"So we send it out in the morning, then at the end of the day, we carry out the plan… does that work?" Ann suggested.

"Correct, the effect won't last that long. Are you worried?" Morgana quipped, looking at Ryuji in particular.

"What'cha starin' at cat?"

"Stop it with the cat name, monkey!"

"Stop with the monkey crap cat!"

"Not this again." Mishima said, bonking both of them on the head.

"We'll pull this off, no matter what!" Ann shouts, a firm resolve in her voice that echoed onto the other as well.

"So, who's gonna write it?" Morgana asked, nurturing the slight bump on his head.

"Ooh, Ooh, let me make it!" Ryuji exclaimed.

"Why?"

"Why?... why wouldn't it be me!?"

"This is important. Are you sure you can handle the pressure?"

_~Hey, have at least some faith in Ryuji.~_

"Yeah, He may be a bit hot headed at times, but he knows what he's doing when he focuses." Haru defended as well.

"I must agree on Ann on this one." Morgana said.

_~that's only because you have a cat boner for- AGH~_ that was all Arata said before Morgana pounced on his head.

"I really wanna get him good! Lemme write it… c'mon, please?"

"..."I'm counting on you Ryuji." Akira nodded, making the blonde male whop with glee as the others looked to the leader in confusion.

"Really?" Ann asked.

"Yes, really, Ryuji's suffered just as much as we have, and this will act as some form of closure for him, as well as you three."

"Hell yeah!" You can count on me!"

"You better not making it so that we'll get caught." Mishima added in.

"I know, I know!"

"Alright then, tomorrow it is! You better not slack off on this, Monkey." Morgana warned.

"I'm in too good a mood to kick your cat ass off the roof for that, but yeah, I'll make this good!"

_~Call Kira when you're done with it. Morgana and I'll post it up before school starts.~_

"Cool."

"Alright, meeting adjourned." Akira said, closing the short meeting, none of them noticed the door slightly ajar, with a new face peeking through, that suddenly closed.

* * *

"Hey, Sakamoto?" Kawakami asked, gaining Ryuji's attention as the day closes out. "I wanted to speak with you for a minute."

"Huh… Oh sure thing, Ms. K. what's up?"

"I was wondering If you were interested in a proposition I'm willing to make."

"Hmm… depends, what type of proposition?"

"Extra credit for miscellaneous assignments."

"... huh?"

"Allow me to explain… you see, I've noticed that your grades, while still barely passable, are gradually increasing while you're with Akira, Ann and their friends… at first I thought you were gonna be a bad influence and turn them into delinquents, but it looks like the opposite is happening instead."

"Uh-huh…"

"So… since I kinda felt bad for thinking that way, and I wanted to help you increase your grades even further, consider this as a half apology/half assignment."

"Hmm… to be honest, you didn't really have to go that far for an apology, I'm used to being on the short end of the stick."

"But I want to help you out. If not for the apology, then will you do it for your education?"

"... sure thing. What's the assignment, Ms. K?"

"Splendid, I want you to make an essay or detailed list on what you're strengths and weakness are. Like what are you good in and what do you lack. It should at least be one full page long, but you can add more if you like." she said, handing him a paper clip bounded sheet. "The extra pages are printed sheets I made to help you out as well."

"Wow, thanks Ms. K."

"No problem, Sakamoto, and sorry again… for being ignorant this whole time…"

"It's fine, I forgive you. At least _you_ apologized for it." Ryuji answered, one more exchange of commentary and the two went their separate ways, Ryuji then looked at the slips of paper, and found something surprising hidden amongst them, a red slip of paper reading:

_**Make a short paragraph using the following words once: Kamoshida, Tyrant, Lust, Perversion, Wicked, Steal, Lives. And Victims.**_

_**Example: Dear Kamoshida, the _ Tyrant of Lust.**_

_**This will Not be graded, and you must keep this to yourself. Post it up tomorrow, then bring your friends to me at lunch.**_

_**-Kawakami. **_

Slightly panicking for a slight moment, Ryuji put two and two together and somewhat chalked it up to Her having a hatred for Kamoshida as well. Wanting to help out his fellow Kamoshita hater, he took the red paper and stuck it in his pocket, taking top priority.

* * *

_Wednesday, 20th_

_Cloudy_

_Shujin Academy_

_Morning_

As soon as everyone came by this morning, they were confronted by a rather large crowd of students murmuring and whispering to each other. Looking at the red cards strewn about, Ann read it aloud for the group to hear.

"Dear Suguru Kamoshida, the Bastard Tyrant of Lust. Your unforgivable perversion has destroyed the lives of your victims who couldn't fight back and stole their chances of having a life. This wicked act of your desires will not go unpunished. Consider your sins forfeit as we steal your heart. Signed, the Phantom thieves of hearts…"she read aloud.

"...What." Mishima started.

"The…" Haru continued.

_~yeah, Morgana and I were just as impressed and confused.~_

"Hey guys, over here." Ryuji shouts, gaining the group's attention.

"Alright, spill it Sakamoto, what exactly was that?" Ann said walking up the the blonde male.

"What? Did I do badly?"

_~no, quite the opposite in fact, I knew you could do it man.~_

"It's just… I wasn't expecting something like THAT coming from you of all people…"

"Well, I had a bit of help…"

"Spill, Ryuji."

"There's bad news too…"

_~oh god, what did you do?~_

"Nothin' I swear! I don't know how, when or why but…"

"But what?" Akira prodded on.

"Ms. K knows."

_~Ms. K who-... Kawakami?~_

"Yep, she hid this with some extra credit papers she gave me when she pulled me back for a few minutes. Said this was for an apology of being ignorant." Ryuji explained, pulling out the red slip and passing it around the group.

"Oh, man… we're so screwed." Mishima whimpered.

_~Not entirely… there may be a chance this might work out.~_

"How exactly will that work out!?"

_~If she wanted to screw with us, then she'd either blackmail us with what she knows, or snitch on us the second she found out, and considering that nobody's the wiser about our *Activity* it's safe to assume that she didn't do either…~_

"Well, we can discuss that with her at lunch, she wants to talk to us there."

"Let's focus on that later, about that calling card…" Akira said, diverting the conversation. "Even though you had help from Kawakami, it's still impressive."

"Yeah, I didn't want to screw everyone over, so I had to restrain myself a bit."

"I'm surprised you even know what half of those words are monkey."

"Not today cat, this is serious!"

"Ok, enough razzin' on Ryuji." Mishima finished. "The target just arrived."

"WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS!?" on cue, Kamoshida stomped over to the pinned board and ripped one of the calling cards off, causing the crowd to scatter. "WAS IT YOU!? OR MAYBE YOU!"

_~Geez, shout louder why don't you…~_

"A predictable response." Morgana quipped quietly.

Looking at the group, who did a very good job of acting like they just got here, the PE teacher stomped over to the group. Not noticing the godling slinking behind Mishima for a flashdrive in his pocket, Arata zipped past the group, leaving the furious man to Akira and friends.

"It was you lot, wasn't it?!"

"What're you talking about?" Akira answered convincingly.

"We just got here and you're already having a bitchy fit!?" Ryuji followed up, acting as he was accused of something false.

"So you're playing dumb?"

"The only dumb one is the person assuming stuff for no reason."

"Grr… it's not a problem. You'll all be expelled anyway." a sound of static filled the thieves ears as the world faded to black suddenly, Shadow kamoshida taking the real one's place, which surprised the whole group.

"Come… steal it if you can!" Shadow Kamoshida hissed ferally.

The world returned to normal as Kamoshida stormed off. Just then, Arata reunited with the group, flash drive in hand.

_~I'm back.~_

"Where were you?" Haru asked.

_~5… 4...3...2..~_ he counted down, just then, sounds of pings filled the area as many phone sounds went off. Taking out their phones, Akira and Ryuji smirked at the message with a video link.

"Is this…" mishima trailed off.

_~Oooh yeah. Our red-herring's up and everyone in the school's got the message.~_

"Cool!, let's get ready for ms. K, then we go on and finish what we started." Ryuji exclaimed, getting affirmative responses from the group.

* * *

"Thank you for coming Ryuji, and to all of you as well…" Kawakami started, the group of 6 sitting in front of her with their lunches in hand.

"So, let's get to the real business; you know something.." Ryuji answered.

"...yes."

"What do you know about us exactly?"

"... remember a few days prior when you left your phone?"

"... Oh shit.."

"RYUJI!" Ann growled at the male.

"That's part of the reason why I wanted to apologize. But that's not what I want to talk about."

"It isn't?" Akira chimed in.

"No; I want in on your little plan."

…

…

…_~WHAT!?~_

this proceeded to throw everyone in for a loop, with Kawakami relishing everyone's expression of disbelief.

"I've known that man for god knows how long, and I never knew his insidious acts until recently. I always thought that Kamoshida being a bad man were just rumors spread by Sakamoto here. But…"

"You saw our evidence and found out the truth." Akira finished off.

"And i'd like to apologize again for that invasion of privacy."

"It's fine."

"WHAT!?" Everyone except Ryuji, Morgana and Arata shouts back.

_~this proves that she wanted something. And look at the silver linings here. Not only do we have a Teacher, who can help with calling cards and making quick escapes from the classroom, but we don't have to worry about her snitching us out.~_

"...True." Morgana agreed, "but isn't this going by a bit too fast?"

_~nope. Tell her we'll welcome her aboard. Besides, the more the merrier.~_

"Alright, how about this." Akira stated. "IF you don't rat us out about our… activities, and promise to help us out in the future, then we'll let you in. sounds good?"

"Perfect."

"What about you guys?" he then asked the rest of the group.

"I'm fine with it." Ryuji answered.

After a long silence, the others slowly agree to these terms.

"Alright, welcome to the team Ms. K!"

"So… what happens now?" Kawakami asks. "I can assume that this Message from the principal, was actually from you all, but what do we do, call the police?" looking at each other, Arata and Akira smirked and nodded at each other, the others following suit.

_~we're gonna have to tell her sooner or later…~_

* * *

Hours later, the school was officially out, and the group of eight plus Kawakami met outside the schoolyard.

"So… this treasure that you all have to steal, this whole stunt you pulled this morning made it appear?" Kawakami asked.

"Yep." Ryuji answered.

"And it can be stolen today?"

"It's not just "today," it's ONLY today." Morgana said, Akira repeating this to the teacher.

_~she's gonna need these.~_ Arata said, giving Akira four bundles of skill slips. _~Haru and Kawakami don't have persona, and this was the last batch of paper Ryuji gave me, so you guys have to make them count.~_

"Here, you're need these." Akira said, handing Haru and Kawakami two stacks each.

"What are these for?"

"You'll see." Ryuji said, speaking the codewords as the world distorts into the familiar castle.

"W-What!? What Happened!? Where's the school!?"

_~This place Is the school.~_

"Yeah, this is what Kamoshida thinks of the whole place."

Looking downwards, Kawakami freaked out even more at the sight of Arata and Morgana.

"A Monster cat and a ghost!?"

_~Why the hell am I called a Ghost!?~_

"Monstercat!? Again!?"

"Focus everyone!" Mishima shouts.

"Right, here we use codenames! For now, you're K." Ryuji announces. "In here, call me Skull, Akira's Joker, the floating one-"

_~Arata.~_

"Is named Reaper, Ann's Panther, Shiho's Shinobi, Mishima's Akuma and the cat's Mona."

"Call me a cat again, monkey, see what happens!"

"Oh my god, a talking cat… and a floating guy." K repeated, lost in her own world.

"Let's go! We're running out of time! Right!

Backtracking through the castle, whilst thanking whoever or whatever managed to teleport them between saferooms, the group of nine all managed to make it to the treasure room.

"Alright K, you be on the lookout out here. Hide just like I taught you and strike when they're distracted." Mona repeated for the third time.

"And what will you do?"

"We'll go in and steal the treasure. If things get too hairy, then climb up here and alert us."

"Got it." K nodded and slinked into the shadows.

_~alright everyone, let's go!~ _rounding the corner, the group was surprised that the throne room ahead was wide open, with seemingly nobody in sight.

"Red flag, Red flags everywhere!" Akuma shouts.

"The hell? Nobody's here!" Skull added.

"Let's just get what we came for and get out of here!" Mona answered, the thieves entering the treasure room behind the throne, only to gawk at the human sized crown that took the cloud blob's place.

"THIS is the treasure!?" Panther shouts. "It's Huge!"

_~nobody make a joke about that.~_

"HaHA! The treasure revealed itself, now let's take it and get out of here." Mona proclaimed.

"We have to CARRY this thing?" Noir retorted.

"Ahh… this shine brings tears to my eyes…"

_~eh… Mona? You ok there?~_

"I-Is he purring?" Shinobi wondered at the practically vibrating cat creature in front of them.

"T-Treasure…"

_~Mona?~_

"Uh, the cat's acting awfully excited…" Skull says, said cat in question jumped up and grasped the giant crown, his purring louder than before.

"Meeeeooooow!" Mona meowed in his own little world as he glomped the treasure he was on. "Mrrrrow!"

_~the damn crown's not catnip cat!~_

"You're way too excited." Joker quipped, peeling the cat off the treasure and snapping him out of his trance.

"Alright, that's enough, stupid cat.." Skull added in.

"Nghh… huh? Oh umm..." Looking away embarrassed, Mons squeaked and stepped back a bit. "Um.. forgive me for doing such an insolent act in front of ladies…"

"You were completely out of character too, what just happened?" Panther asked.

"I couldn't stop it either… to think I'd be drawn to human desires so much…"

"Well it's weird that you suddenly did that."

"A-anyways, you guys have to carry it."

_~why us!?~_

"I'm too short to do it!"

_~That's no excuse.~_

"Let's just take it and go." Akuma said, lifting part of the crown with ease.

The others following suit, Joker, Skull, Akuma and reaper all carried the crown out the room.

"Go,go, Let's Go, Kamoshida!" a mysteriously familiar voice echoed behind them.

_~the fuck was that?~_ suddenly, something knocked the whole crown off the male's hands as it rolled over to none other than Shadow Kamoshida himself.

_~Oh god no, it's Speedoman!~_

"Kamoshita!" Skull yelled.

"I won't let you all take this, This proves that I am the king of this castle- it's the core of this world!" the shadow king sneered.

_~Look, we took that thing fair and square. Just… shut up and give it back.~_

"That Rat bastard… that's how he sees me isn't it?!" Panther yelled out.

"Wait… where's K?"

"And next time, try not to send an expendable bitch as your scout." with a snap of his fingers, several guards kicked K towards the group with several small injuries.

"K!" Akuma shouts.

"Yo, Pervert. You were waitin' to ambush us?" Skull shouted.

"I just made it easier to find you lot. I'll dispose of you myself. Right here, right now." Kamoshida said.

"That's our line, you sexually harassing bastard!" Shinobi Shouts out in rage.

"What a selfish misunderstanding."

_~how's this a misunderstanding!?~_

"Everyone else kept it a secret, not me." he went on. "Adults who want to share in my accomplishments, students with the drive to become winners. They willingly protect me, so that we all profit from it."

"Profit?" K said, slowly rising in pain.

"K, are you alright?" Noir asked, helping her up.

"There are too many imbeciles who don't understand that!, including you all."

"Yeah, well if the intellectuals are anything like you, then I'd rather not understand it. We don't need your tacky ass to live our lives!" Skull roared.

"Silence peasants! there's no wrong in using MY gifts for MY gain! I'm a cut above all others!"

"Above, you mean beneath!" Panther retorted. "You're a goddamn demon obsessed with your sick desires!"

Chuckling at this, Kamoshida slowly began to rise up from the floor, a dark aura forming around him. "That's right. I'm not like you…" He said, his voice distorting in a more demonic form. "I am a demon, who Rules this world!" He roared, morphing into a horrific monstrosity before them.

"Ah crap." Joker said, the demon thing whiplashed them all with its tongue, throwing them all back. Slowly rising up, he looked on as the demon cackles maniacally as it crawled towards the thieves.

_(Ost: Battle Hymn of the Soul start)_

"Hello." the sudden voice of Igor echoed in his mind before everything went white. Opening his eyes once more, he was face to face with Philemon and the grey butterfly on the desk in front of him.

"Greetings trickster… it seems that you are in quite the predicament." Philemon addressed.

"Yeah… we were just about to fight it actually." Akira replied.

"Well then, allow us to aid as well. Remember the Inhibitor Ring I gave you?" Igor answered as Joker nodded. "Put it on, and repeat what I say."

Back to the rest of the group! Joker shot up suddenly, alerting the rest of the inhabitants, and raised his fist with the Inhibitor ring equipped and shouts.

"Reaper! Arsene! Synchronize!" all of a sudden, Reaper glowed a sheen of rainbow light as he was rapidly being sucked into the ring, Arsene, who materialized at the call of his name, followed suit, and both swirled into the piece of jewelry as a flash of black and red engulfed Joker.

* * *

**Cliffhanger!**

**Like review and all that jazz, part 2's gonna take a while. I gotta give some of my other fics some love as well.**

**TBC**


	7. Chapter 7: Fall of Lust

**Okay, so quick thing:**

**Social Links: yeah… I'm not gonna do that. I'll list off when the links are forged, when they're maxed out and when they're upgraded (more on that later), but that's it, it'll take too long to make the filler plots revolving around them, and some of the characters are… well OOC (lookin at you two Yuuki and Shiho) in this fic.**

**Other than that, have fun.**

* * *

The light of red and black died down, revealing Joker in a completely different state entirely. His former black tailcoat was now a deep scarlet with black flames designed on the garb, a pitch black top hat and cane manifested along with him, completing the overall changes with two cuff like bangles with jet black chains linked to his wrists.

"...what the hell!?" Skull yelled, rising up from his spot.

"J-Joker?"

"Yes?" said thief answered back, a chorus of him, Arata and Arsene sounded off instead of the main Phantom thief.

"Hot damn!" Skull shouts, "That looks awesome!"

"**It DoEsN't MaTtEr WhAt FoRm YoU TaKe KiD!" **the demonic Kamoshida exclaimed. **"YoU'rE NeVeR LeAvInG hErE AlIvE!"**

"We'll See about that." the upgraded Joker retorted, looking at the cat creature beside him. "Mona, I'll distract him, you steal the crown from his head. Everyone else, cover me!"

"Right!"

The group scattered, dodging the various attacks from the demon monster thing before them.

"hmm... " Joker hummed in thought "How can we get to the crown of… whatever the hell this thing is?"

_~Answer: Suguru "Asmodeus" Kamoshida. Weakness N/A, Hp: 2500.~_ Arata's voice echoed through Joker's mind, however, his tone seemingly robotic and stiff. _~Recommendation: damage health supply and attack sources.~_ the glowing chalice and several chained underlings now glowed a white light, signifying the transformed thief of where to attack.

"Alright, Let's try this…" gripping his chained knife, Joker rushed towards the golden chalice in front of Kamoshida and swung a wide arce towards the Cup, leaving a large gash on the container and directing the demon's attention to him.

"**HeY! QuIt ThAt! ThIs ThInG iS wOrTh MoRe MoNeY tHaN tEn Of YoUr LiVeS!**"

"Stab the cup!" Joker shouts, Shooting several bullets at the chained underlings beside the Shadow king.

"Oh Shit, Right!" Skull Shouts rising up and casting lightning attacks to the underlings as well.

"I'm on it!" Akuma shouts, running towards the Chalice and strikes it with a powerful kick, leaving a large visible dent.

"**I sAiD qUiT iT!"**

"AGI!"

"Megido!"

"Magna!"

A triad of elements blasted forth and struck the chalice, blowing it to pieces.

"**No!"** the Shadow king roared. **"ThIs WaS fRoM wHeN i WoN tHe NaTiOnAl!"**

"Nobody cares!" Akuma shouts, punching off a separate underling. Soon, all the underlings were freed and killed, leaving Kamoshida to the group's mercy as they flanked him from all sides.

"We got you now Dickbag!" Skull yelled, aiming his shotgun at the tyrant.

"**YoU tHiNk YoU cAn GeT aWaY wItH dOiNg ShIt LiKe ThIs!? Do YoU rEaLiZe WhO i Am!? ...I aM KAMOSHIDA! DoN't YoU gEt It!?"**

"Yes, we know. We just don't care." Shinobi answered, shooting her crossbow at the glass he was holding, breaking it.

"**WhA!? HOW DARE YOU! FuCk It! I'M gOnNa KiLl AlL oF yOu!"**

The demonic shadow roared as it stood up on its short legs and flailed around wildly, causing the thieves to retreat slightly to avoid damage.

"Mona." Joker whispered, gaining the cat's attention. "Where are you? We need this done fast…"

"Almost there, just keep at him.." Mona nodded, hiding on the chandelier above the Shadow.

"Okay so what'd be a good distraction for this…" Joker thought.

_~recommendation: blind, cripple and or divert the shadow's attention.~_

"...ookay, anything else?"

_~suggestion addition: Kill the shad-~_

"Yeah, not happening. Everyone. Keep his attention scattered!"

Nodding at the new plan, the entire group focused on just that. Akuma and Skull focused on attacks and parrying the demon's flailing swings, Panther and Shinobi rained down ammunition to keep his eyes on them, and K and Noir spammed rapid fire spells from many skill cards.

Running up to the distracted shadow, Joker reared his knife and swung….

…

...right into the tyrant's left eye.

"**AaAaAaAaHhHhHhHhHh!"**

"Ooh damn!" Skull wheezed, cringing as the blade slid through the demon's retna like butter.

"Shit, is that gonna leave a mark!?" Joker panicked internally.

_~Answer: negative, this form will dissipate, leaving the shadow relatively unharmed when subdued. Warning: 30 seconds until separation.~_

"WHAT!?"

"**YoU DaMn No GoOd, ShItTy- HeY wAiT a MiNuTe…"** the shadow king hissed, looking around the room. **"Is ThErE oNe LeSs Of YoU?"**

"Uuuuh…"

"**I kNeW iT! ThE dAmN cAt'S MiSsInG! WhErE'd It Go!?"**

"Right Here!" Mona Shouts, diving from his perch and rams into the crown on its head, knocking said headpiece off and rolling to the other side of the room.

**"NOOOOO! MY... MY PRECIOUS...!"** The king bellows.

"This ends here Kamo-" was all Joker said before spazzing out in front of everyone in a black and red light. Everyone looked onward as the Phantom Thief split into three, revealing Arsene, a winded Reaper and a slightly dazed normal Joker.

"W-what happened!?" Joker spoke up, shaking off his initial daze.

"That would be the cost of the inhibitor ring, Trickster." Philemon's voice echoed through his mind. "It shall grant you new strength, but only for a total of five minutes, when the time is up, then the transformation ends."

"... crap."

_~Whine about it later, man, finish the speedodemon!~_ Reaper shouts out as he launched towards the downed shadow. Everyone soon followed suit, clashing every which way in a tidal wave of magic, weapons and gunshots.

"D-DAMN IIIIT!" The shadow cried out as it bows down defeated, exploding in a big black explosion, revealing the humanoid shadow variant within.

"Perfect! Now to claim our prize!" Mona cheered, the group nearing the crown… before the shadow suddenly grabbed the crown and ran off to a nearby balcony.

"Crap!" the shadow whimpered, looking back at the group.

"You're at the end of your rope kamoshida." K announced, walking forward. "Hand over the crown."

"No way, I've earned this crown!" the shadow desperately screams at them. "Those damn hyenas wanted EVERYTHING from me. I'm a victim too! What's wrong with wanting a little compensation for that!?"

_~Compensation? COMPENSATION!? Motherfucker, you almost raped a girl for no reason, and you call that COMPENSATION!?~ _Reaper yelled.

"If you're that desperate for that stupid crown, then why don't you jump?" Shinobi said, "right now you're seeing the same view I did, but this time, there won't be anyone who'll save you."

"What will you do?" Panther continued. "Will you jump, or would you rather die here? The choice is yours." Carmen and Joan nodded to each other, with the fire persona charging fireballs and the light persona rearing her spear-bow at the scared king.

_~remember girls. No killing. Otherwise he's fair game.~ _Reaper shouts, grinning ferally.

"Wait, wait, wait! I beg of you! Please Forgive m-" Kamoshida was promptly silenced when an arrow whizzed passed his face, barely missing by a margin.

"Silence!" Shinobi hissed. "This little game of yours has been going on long enough!"

"I bet everyone told you the same thing." Panther added. "But you took EVERYTHING FROM THEM!" Carmen threw her fireballs near the horrified shadow, making it flinch in fear.

"I-I a-accept defeat… here, Take it…" the king kneeled down and tossed the crown to Joker, who caught it and passed it to Reaper. "Go ahead and finish me off… my real self will go down too…"

_~now where's the fun in t- huh?~_ Reaper stopped mid sentence when Shinobi and panther walked forward, a thin but noticeable trail of Malice steamed off of them._ ~hey girls… remember… don't kill him.~_

"..."

_~girls?~_

"..."

_~girls!? Don't do it.~_

Steeling themselves, Panther and Shinobi snapped their fingers, causing Carmen and Joan to fire their attacks at the downed king.

"ANN!" Skull shouts out, forgetting the codenames entirely at the shocking turn of events.

The king closed his eyes and awaited for his death… that never came. Looking back up, he found a giant scorch mark and an arrow of light pierces inches away from him, with both girls looking down on him.

"If his mind shuts down.. Then he can't admit his crimes." Panther said, her eyes laced with fury.

"We're not going to be like this scumbag." Shinobi added, looking away from him.

_~oh thank god.~_

"That almost scared me a little…" Skull sighed.

"You're kind, Lady Ann, Lady Shiho…" Mona nodded.

"Go back to your real self… and repent." Joker said, getting a slow nod from the dethroned demon as it slowly faded away.

All of a sudden, the palace started shaking violently as the group looked on in panic.

"Hey guys. The palace won't hold up much longer." Mona said, causing everyone to look at him.

_~we should probably RUN!~_ Reaper screamed, making everyone beeline for the exit as the world crumbled apart.

* * *

_~You almost Died Monkey boy!~_

"Stop it with the damn Monkey!" Ryuji yelled.

"Stop giving us headaches and heart attacks!" Ann yelled back.

"Well stop wit- huh? Hey! Look at the nav!" Ryuji pulled out his phone, the others followed suit.

"When did this get on my phone?" Kawakami asked.

_*the destination has been deleted.*_

"So… we can't go there anymore?" Mishima asked, causing the other's to shrug.

"Forget that! What about the treasure!?" Morgana shouted, causing a whole new wave of panic… right before Akira silently pulling out a medal from his pocket.

_~there it is.~_

"What the…" Ryuji deadpanned.

"We almost died for an Olympic medal? Where's the crown!?" Ann shouts again.

"That medal IS the crown." Morgana clarified. "To Kamoshida, that medal is worth the same as that crown we saw in the palace."

"Well, it's nice to know that I've almost died for a block of metal." Mishima sighed.

"I bet that perv kept clingin' to his past glory and couldn't let it go…" Ryuji said.

"Then… this means that his heart has changed, right?"

"...probably." Morgana shrugged nervously.

"Our expulsion is on the line here!" Shiho shouts out.

"WHAT!?" Kawakami shouts. "What the hell happened before I came to you guys!?"

"Hey, this is the first successful example for me too! I only have the knowledge, not the experience!" Morgana rebutted.

_~how does that work?~_

"No idea…" akira shrugged.

"However, there's no doubt that this affected Kamoshida's personality quite a bit."

"Ugh… let's just turn in for tonight." Shiho said, getting affirmative replies to her suggestion.

"I feel antsy though… aint there a way to check now?"

"I'll ask Igor and philemon later, but for now, let's rest on it." Akira said, getting nods from everyone as they all headed home.

* * *

_Monday, 25th_

_Partially cloudy_

_Shibuya district_

_Mid-day_

_~kira.~_

"Yes?"

_~what the hell am I seeing here?~_

"...I don't know myself."

Five days after the palace disappeared, the group awaited for any update on their expulsion. Kawakami decided to look more into that, so he's waiting for that message, which didn't arrive yet. Then there's mishima, who kind of adopted his timid form once more, but with a slightly more calm demeanor, and his idea for a little "project" as he puts it. This leaves the rest of the group with practically nothing to do, and with seven days left before the day of the expulsion, the group were in a state of disarray. So, as a way to cope with the suspense, Akira and Arata went out shopping, and they made it to a mall before they stopped in their tracks at the sight they're seeing.

There, right in front of them were a set of massage chairs, sofas and other furniture next to a sign saying "try before you buy." but that was not what they were shocked about.

Not about the somewhat cheap pricings either…

"Uuuhh…"

The two little girls practically vibrating on their own activated massage chairs on the other hand…..

_~Carol… Justy… what uh..… whatcha doing here?~_

"Living Inmate. Living." the bun haired tiny warden said, sinking into the cushion of the vibrating chair.

"No… like what are you two doing HERE?" Akira clarified. "In the real world?"

"We're on our break." the second braided warden answered.

_~How did you… nevermind, WHY are you here?~_

"Like we said, inmates! It's our day off!" Caroline shouts back.

"You two are the only ones we know of in this place." Justine added.

"Kira?" a familiar set of voices shouts out.

_~oh dear lord no.~_

Walking up to the group of four were Ryuji, Mishima and Haru, each one having done their own shopping by the looks of their occupied hands.

"What's going on here?" Mishima asked, looking at the two wardens. "And who are these two?"

"Oh, looks like the inmate's friends have arrived."

"Inmates?"

"Don't worry about it. Guys these two are Caroline and Justine."

_~Carol, Justy, these are-~_

"We know who they are, inmates." Caroline yelled back.

"Okay, seriously dude, what's with the inmate nickname."

_~we'll tell you later. The big question is WHY they're here!~_

"And we'll repeat: we're on break. And we want you to be our guides here." Justine said. Both wardens leaving the chairs and stood next to Akira.

"... I don't have a choice in the matter, do I?"

"Aw, see, you're learning." Caroline snarked.

* * *

_~and that's it.~_

"Damn… so these two were a girl that this Demiurge split apart?" Ryuji whispered, looking on as Akira was practically their shopping mule… at his expense.

_~yep, though I'm more confused on how they're here… their powers are halved. And I doubt they can leave on their own for too long.~_

"Well, what's with this "inmates" thing they keep calling you two?"

_~...well, you know kira's false criminal record?~_

"Yeah?"

_~that. That's all you need to know.~_

"But that leaves another question." Haru stated. "Just what is the velvet room? Aside from the one Philemon and Igor are, you said that the Demiurge kicked them out. What does that room look like?"

Three gazes fell upon the godling as they awaited an answer.

_~um… it's blue, first off.. Um… it's circular… cobbled floor, blue furniture…~_

"We're back." Akira's voice mumbled, his entire face muffled by boxed of pastries and goods.

_~oh thank god.~_

"What the hell's all that!?" Ryuji yelped at the sheer amount of boxed the male carried.

"Cookies, cakes, brownies… they really like sweets for some reason." Akira answered.

"No, the sweets are for me, inmate!" Caroline shouts, taking out a cookie from one of the boxes. "The spicy stuff's for Justine."

_~wait… justy's into spicy food?~_ Arata asked, looking at the braided girl finishing a box of hot wings, somehow without causing a mess on her face and hands.

_~HOW!?~_

"Anyways, have you guys heard back from Kawakami yet?"

"Nah man, I've been focusing on some extra credit."

"I'm afraid I haven't either, sorry."

_~what about you Mishima?~_

"Actually, I think she wanted you to message her. We met together while I finished my special project and told me."

_~really!? Cool, maybe there's good news after all.~_

"What's this project anyway?" Akira asked, his answer being the blunette showing him his phone, with an intricate website flashing on it.

"I call it the Phansite. It's still a work in progress though."

"What's it for?" Haru asked.

"It's fo-"

_*bzzzzzt!*_

"Huh?" taking out his phone, Akira looked down to see that it was Kawakami on the other end.

"Huh, guess she didn't like waiting." Mishima shrugged.

"Hey guys, give me a bit, I have to take this."

_~go on, I gotta talk to these three anyway~ _Arata said, gesturing to Ryuji, Morgana and Haru.

"Alright… wait, what about these two?"

"I'll take care of them for the time being." Mishima answered, getting looks from everyone. "What? I know how to take care of children, and they look the part, so no one will notice who or what they truly are."

"Hmm… true, we do look rather too youthful." Caroline sighed.

"Alright, fine. We'll go with the blue one, but only until the inmate is done with his call."

_~cool.~_ Arata nodded. Nodding to him, Akira, Mishima and the twins all left off to another area of the shopping district.

_~so, have you three been practicing like I asked on saturday?~_ Arata asked out of the blue, the two humans and cat creature nodded, thinking back to the event several days prior.

* * *

_Flashback time_

_Saturday, 23rd_

_Sunny_

_Shujin Rooftops_

_Mid-day_

_~thanks for coming up here you three.~_ Arata said, looking out over the rooftop. Behind him were Haru and Ryuji, Morgana hanging beside them in Ryuji's bag. Floating towards them, Arata chuckled and pulled out some books from his jacket.

"So… what's this all about?" Ryuji said out of the blue, confused at why he had to be there.

_~Remember when I awakened your potenti- wait.~_ Arata stopped, looking at Ryuji. _~what the hell happened to you?~_

True to his claim, Ryuji had a major change as opposed to his normal appearance, the most prominent one being his hair, which were now sporting pitch black streaks instead of the pale blonde they were accustomed to.

"Eh… you guys wouldn't believe me…"Ryuji chuckled nervously, looking off to the side.

_~try me.~_

"... I sneezed. Like, really hard and… long story short, there was a reason why there was a power outage near my neighborhood."

_~you… sneezed a blackout?~_

"...yes?" Ryuji asked.

_~huh, to think you'd make one that strong…~  
_"HUH!? You believe me?" Ryuji shouts out, startled.

_~yeah, it's kind of the reason why I called you here.~_

"That didn't answer his question either." Morgana added.

"Well, apparently the sneeze fried off most of the hair dye I used… and I was out of stock at home."

_~well I like it. It gives off a nice danger vibe.~_

"You said, this is the reason why you called us here, correct?" Haru intervened, getting the group back on track.

_~yep, you three are going to train yourselves how to utilize your new powers.~ _Arata exclaimed. _~Ryuji with his lightning power, you with your psychokinesis, and Morgana with his wind magic. Thankfully these books gave me some good starting ideas for training you. Now, each of you separate.~_ doing what the godling instructed, the three went off to a different area of the roof. Arata chose to go you ryuji first due to him being the closest.

_~okay, Ryuji, I want you to do some simple motions. Once you're comfortable with doing them, then close your eyes.~_ Arata began to swing his arms fluidly and slowly in long swoops, Ryuji following close behind. After a few minutes, the back and blonde male closed his eyes, not stopping his repetitions.

_~good. Now electricity flows, just like water, it's a lot easier to flow with it and guide it than against it. Don't force the electricity, let it carry you. Just focus on guiding it, like a chariot.~ _Arata said, floating beside the boy. _~now, take a deep breath and tell me what you see.~_

Breathing in, then out, Ryuji relaxed slightly, tiny sparks danced across his body as he did so.

"I-I see… a yellow ball."

_~yes, good. Anything else? What is it doing?~_

"It's swinging… like my arms are doing…"

_~that's perfect, keep it up._~

"Should I go faster?"

_~no, not yet, take another deep breath and think about all things lightning and electric.~_

Heeding the godling's advice, Ryuji did as instructed, the yellow orb growing bigger and more radiant with each motion.

_~yes, YES! Now, on the count of three, you swing to the sky, with all your force if you need to.~_

"Okay…" Ryuji nodded.

_~one…~ _Ryuji swung. _~two…~_ another swing…_ ~THREE!~_ with one final swing, Ryuji opened his eyes and swung overhead, a giant arc of electricity surged out his hand and into the air, curving and twirling like a corkscrew before dissipating altogether. Heaving slightly, Ryuji crashed onto the rooftop.

_~not bad for your first time, kid. Think you can do that again?~_

"... just… give me a minute." Ryuji gasped.

_~Alright, you rest up and try again. Morgana you're next!~_

Floating on over to the cat, Arata pulled out a book from behind him. _~okay so for you, it's a bit simple; just think of the sky, the breeze you feel when the wind flows around you, as if you were weightless.~_

"Um…"

_~Hmm… just close your eyes, calm your mind and… well when you and Zorro casts wind magic, try to imitate that feeling.~_

"Ah, that i can do." closing his eyes, Morgana focused deep within himself as he stilled his breath. Seconds later, he began to float in place soft winds picking up and swirling around the cat.

_~huh, that was faster than Ryuji..~_

"Not bad, Cat!" said Ryuji commented from the background.

In a sudden spin, Morgana twisted upwards, a short spiral of wind swirled outwards, rocketing him into the air before he floated down to his original spot. "How's that?"

_~not bad, i feel like i won't need to teach you lot much if this keeps up.~_ Arata nodded._ ~now for Haru.~_ floating to his final companion, Arata tossed the earlier book aside and pulled out a different one entirely.

_~okay, so for you haru, this might sound a bit confusing…~_

"Not to worry." Haru reassured. "I'm sure that we can find a way."

_~so… close your eyes, clear your mind, and take a deep breath.~_

Following the instructions, Haru closed her eyes and cleared her mind, a thin veil of pink appeared around her.

_~okay.. Now-~ _before Arata managed to finish, Haru did what not even he managed to prepare for at that moment… and sneezed.

"Aa… ACHOO!"

***BOOOOM!***

...and nearly everything around them either exploded or was flung out of sight.

As the four regained their bearings, Arata looked around at what was now a clean, empty rooftop… and several roofless buildings around the school.

_~eeeh, let's call it a break for now, just repeat what we just did. From now on when you have the time… excluding the ..sneezing part.~_

_Flashback end_

* * *

"I think the authorities are still trying to figure that out." Haru said.

_~of course they are, you sneezed roofs off of buildings.~_

"It was one sneeze."

_~anyways, we'll work on your powers more next weekend.~_

"I'm back." Akira said, walking back to the group. "Good news; Kamoshida called Kawakami and personally apologized to her, and look what she had with her." pulling out his phone, Akira showed the group a picture on it of Kawakami holding a stack of papers.

"Are those-!?" Ryuji yelled, excitement and relief leaking out of his tone.

"Yep. we don't have to worry about expulsion."

"Good." Morgana said. "Now that that's over, we just have to wait until his confession. That way we'll know for sure we had a successful job.

"Are the inmates done yet!?" Caroline shouts, the three remaining people joining in on the group.

"Yeah, I'm done Carol." Akira smirked, causing said warden to blush and stammer.

"Not you too!"

"Well what would you want us to call you?"

_~Well, there's Aquamarine, Lapis Lazuli, violet, blue jay…~_

"S-stop it!" she stutters, going through various shades.

"What about beautiful carnation?... carnations are blue right?" Ryuji pitched in

"Yes, there are blue carnations." Haru answered, "there are also Irises, periwinkle…"

"Sapphires?" Morgana added.

_~yes yes! There we go!~_

"STOP IT THIS INSTANT!" Caroline shouts her face going a new shade of red "WE'RE GOING BACK INMATES!"

"Aw come on, Carol, Justy." AKira said.

"NO! We-re leaving Right now!"

"Till we meet again inmates." Justine shouts, her twin practically dragging her away.

"...well that was something." Ryuji deadpanned.

_~you do know that I'm gonna start teasing them on this from now on, right?~_

"I'd be shocked if you didn't." AKira chuckled.

* * *

**Sorry about how short this is compared to the others. I figured you lot could get SOMETHING before i brick even more than before. So this is filler arc part one, then the second part will have the confession, then a few events before we start madarame's arc. Also, I deeply apologize for this since i kinda promise that i wouldn't stall on the kamoshida arc. Anyways enjoy**

**TBC**


	8. Chapter 8: Mementos and Vanity

**Persona 5X chapter 9**

**I LIIIIIIIVE! So I've decided on a few things:**

**Until I get my Remnant Rewound revamp up, I'm gonna focus on this one primarily.**

**go.**

* * *

Sayo Kawakami sighed as she slumped down onto her seat in the now empty classroom. Minutes prior to her latest text to the group. Looking over to the hidden shredder under her desk with several slips of papers in it. She shook her head from the sudden wave of thoughts entering through her mind. The most prominent, and relentless, one lingering was this one teasingly far off question.

_Didn't I do this before?_

The fights, the exploration, the sense of dangerous adventure. Everything about Kamoshida's Palace just felt… familiar to her, but for the life of her, she just couldn't figure out where or what it was. Those mystical elements she used, the thrill of fighting, sneaking, looting… it was as though it was all but a dream, yet for some reason, in the back of her mind. It felt nostalgic.

Looking around the room one more time, Kawakami pulled out a drawer and took out a small binder. Opening the makeshift book, she sighed at the only big image in it: a paper sheet sized photo of a group in their teens. A teenage version of herself was seen near the middle, next to a bespectacled male and a short reporter girl. A female goth, a thug like delinquent and a neat librarian looking girl.

"Just what is happening?" she whispered to the air, the question lingering like the distant memory she's desperately grabbing. Getting nowhere with sulking and moaning about this, Kawakami decided to do something that she hadn't done in a long while.

***riiing***

***riiiiiiing***

***riii-*** "Hello?"

"Hey… it's been a while since we talked."

"We saw each other a few weeks ago."

"Yeah, but there's something I have to tell you… I'll meet you soon." _'Phantom thieves or not, this is something that I can't figure out alone, so I might as well get the gang back together'_ She thought. _'I won't disclose too much, though…'_

"Alright, I'm in the middle of work, but come by later. Want me to call the others?"

"Sure."

"Alright, See ya Kawakami."

"See you… Sojiro."

* * *

_Saturday 30th_

_Cloudy_

_Leblanc's_

_Afternoon_

Five days have passed, and still no sign of result from Kamoshida. Akira paced lightly around the room, Morgana, Arata and the two main persona looking onward at the circling male.

"What else is there to do?" Akira asked, sighing frustratingly. "We've already shopped, studied, visited Tae's clinic, met up with everyone, sold all the loot we nabbed in the palace, i just finished watering my plants…"

_~yeah, i'm running on blanks too. I could've suggested taking the group to Voidtex, but you're the only one aside from me experienced enough to handle the place. And that was before the tricked out pokemon stands jumped into the equation.~_

"I may have a suggestion, but let's wait until everyone's in one place before I pitch in; who knows what'll happen if we jump in unprepared." morgana replied.

"Uuuugh. I'm bored." Akira froze for a second, chuckling lightly. "Never thought I'd hear myself say that."

_~well… I may have another idea that we can do…~_

"Really? What is it?"

_~you know, Kira. the cycle quests.~_

"Oh. ooooh. I forgot about those." Akira gasped, remembering way back when.

"Um… Cycle quests?" Morgana asked. "What are those?"

_~I agree. I have not heard of these "Cycle quests" that you speak of.~ _Zorro added.

_~they're repeatable special events we can do. They change slightly every day, but there are usually four kinds of quests: Zen Yen Mill to rake in loads of yen, crystal field for enhancing crystals, Nanomana crypt to get power up items and Rare house for random, yet rare items.~_

"The only problem is that it's tedious and requires a bit of time and patience." Akira continued, walking up to the cat. "However, it just might work in getting rid of this boredom."

_~that's the spirit!~_ Arata cheered. _~so… when is the next meet up with everyone?~_

"In 3 hours…" Morgana sighed.

_**~then we have 3 hours to explore these dungeons. Let us make haste.~**_ Arsene finished, the five nodded their confirmation afterwards. A few seconds later, Sojiro walked up to the room, only to find nobody there but a note saying "be back soon, friend meeting" on the bed.

3 hours later…

"Seriously, are you okay Ryuji?" Akira asked. After grinding a surprisingly lot of times, the leblanc residents decided to head over to a local cafe where the others are hanging out, Mishima joining them partway explaining his project called the "Phansite", however, the moment they were walking by the school, a group of teen males wearing gym clothes caught Arata's eye. It took everyone's attention when they hear Ryuji's voice yelling out from in front of the group.

Needless to say, things escalated a bit. And now the gym students were walking away with bruises and mumbling about invisible wedgies.

"Yeah man, I'm fine." Ryuji waved off. "They always do this: they're all bark. Honest."

_~and the yelling?~_

"i … got riled up again."

"Hmm… well, don't let those lemmings mess you up." Morgana answered.

_~so, now that ryu's joined the party…~_

"Ryu?"

_~who's left? There's Ann, Haru, and Shiho…~_

"Don't forget Kawakami."

_~ah right.~_

***BOOOM***

Jumping in sync at the surprising boom of thunder, the group of boys looked up to find dark storm clouds rolling in. just then their phones vibrated in unison. Taking out his first, Akira looked at the upcoming message.

**Floof**: sorry, I don't think I can make it to the meeting.

**K**: I've just received a call from the school ,they want me for something. Might want to take a raincheck on the meeting.

**Ann**: sorry, shiho and I are gonna wait out the storm at my place.

Shaking his head, Akira put away his phone, looking at the rest of the group. "So… you wanna hang out with us, Ryuji?" he asked.

"... sure, why not."

* * *

_Monday February 2nd_

_Partly cloudy_

_Shujin academy_

_Morning_

"Hey Arata. Stats please."

_~dude that's the 5th time you've asked that.~_

"I'm nervous, okay."

_~yeah, yeah I know.~_ snapping his fingers, a familiar black box appeared before the student.

**Akira R. Amamiya-Kurusu**

**Lv. 25**

**Hp: 629**

**Sp: 406**

**Guts (Rnk 5): 2/10**

**Kind (Rnk 3): 5/10**

**Prof (Rnk 3): 9/10**

**Chrm (Rnk 4): 0/10**

**Intl (Rnk 3): 8/10**

**Yen: 2,853,200 **

After spending the rest of the days grinding through the cycle quests, selling the loot (the store owners' face was priceless) and going around town, the first thing they were greeted with when everyone went back to school was an announcement to meet up at the gymnasium. Unsettled by the sudden change in schedule, the group now stood in various places of the now crowded gym.

"This could be related... no it's most like tied to kamoshida." morgana piped in through Akira's bag.

_~maybe… here's hoping that nobody caught wind of us.~_

"Thank you all for coming today." the voice of the kingpin knock off of a principal echoed through the room. "Let's begin this schoolwide morning assembly."

Everyone stilled into silence at the principal's words.

"As you all know, a tragic event almost happened on our very grounds the other day. Thankfully, we have been informed of the act being stopped before it could escalate. Even so, everyone here has a bright future ahead of themselves. I implore you to rethink the importance of life and-"

"A sudden sound of the doors opening caught the group's attention, Ann being the first one to spot the familiar bastard teacher before everyone else. However, hie appearance looked weary and disheveled, with a posture and look of defeat and remorse clinging to his features like leeches.

"Guys, look." she whispered, pointing to the teacher walking up on stage.

"Kamoshita!?" Ryuji yelps.

"Is he…"

_~oh god i hope it might be…~_

Finally making it on stage, kamoshita tapped the principals shoulders, causing the portly man to turn surprised at the sudden arrival.

"O-Oh, Mr. Kamoshida? What's the-" stopping mid sentence by Kamoshida's hand, the teacher mumbled out. "I… have been… reborn.."

Walking past the principal and taking the mic himself, Kamoshida continue. "That's why… i'm going to confess everything to you all…"

_~holy shit it IS!~_

Murmurs and whispers flooded the room as the teacher took center stage. "I have… repeatedly done things that were… unbecoming of a teacher.."

The murmurs were getting louder as he continued his speech. "Verbally abusing students, physically abusing my team, and… sexually harassing female students… I...I am the reason why shiho suzui attempted suicide…"

"Hot damn…" Ryuji whistled, grinning maniacally at the broken teacher. Gasps and shouts roared out from the crowd at the weeping coach.

"I thought of this school as my own castle...there were even students that I sentenced to expulsion… just because I didn't like them… I have, of course, rescinded them." Kamoshida sobbed. "I am… truly sorry for putting innocent youths through such horrible acts. I'm an… arrogant, shallow and shameful person… dare I say, even less than that." by then he was full on sobbing. I will take responsibility… and end my life as recompense…"

"Oh shit…" Ryuji mumbled.

_~RED FLAG!~_

"Crap, this is going too well…" Akira said. Suddenly Ann stepped up a bit, ignoring the staffs pleas to evacuate the gym, and shouts out.

"Don't run, you bastard!" she yells. "Shiho's still alive, even though she'd suffered enough to make her give up on herself. You have NO right to run from this!"

"Catching on with Ann, Ryuji continued the train of thought. "Yeah you shitlord! Don't go shouting out stuff like that while you still got debts to pay!"

"You're right… you're completely right…" Kamoshida weeped. " In return for giving Suzui a position on the team… i… tried to force Ms. Takamaki into having relations… I intentionally provoked Mr. Sakamoto into attacking me to disband the track team, crippling him and shifting the blame to the boy in the process… and I… physically assaulted Ms. Kawakami… just because she rejected me.."

_~OK that went there!~_

"Kawakami's involved in this too!?" Akira shouts out, looking for the teacher in question. Finding her, his question was confirmed when she looked away slightly. By now the whole crowd was in an uproar at the teacher. The remaining staff tried to calm everyone down to no effect.

"As of today… I will resign from my position as an instructor… and turn myself in." taking out a phone from his pocket, Kamoshida dialed the familiar number and vocally addressed his arrest in front of everyone.

* * *

Meeting once again at the rooftop afterschool, the group of nine sat there in silence at the current event that transpired, the sound of police sirens being the only distant noise in the air.

_~Hot damn that was...a thing.~_ Arata said breaking the silence.

"Really?" Akira deadpanned.

_~you think of something better then!~_

"Oh I have something better… Professor, when were you going to tell us about Kamoshida's assault?" everyone looked over at her, sighing at the group, she shook her head. "The guy was piss drunk one time and he thought that he was good enough to make it to work. He thought I was whoring myself out and asked me to "join" him. And he got pissed when i said no. he got a few good hits in before I stopped him by kicking his-"

_~OK TMI ms. K!~_

"Still, didn't you hear what everyone was saying. They were talking about the calling card and everything." Mishima shouts out.

"He really did have a change of heart…" Ann continued, nodding.

"Seems like it…" Ryuji replied.

"That was a bit over the top though, wasn't it?" Haru asked.

"Yeah, was it really for the best?"

"I think so…" Akira said.

_~that guy deserved it for all the crap he's put you guys through.~_

"But things are happenin' way too fast…" Ryuiji continued. "On our way here, we were bombarded by the students apologizing for everything."

"Well I don't know about you, but we should find a bright side to this." Morgana chipped in. "he apologised to all of you, even for the unknown problem with Kawakami, and it worked; his heart was changed."

_~hey, yeah you're right!~_

"And we really lucked out on him not having a mental breakdown." Ryuji cheered. "That was an A+ job!"

"That was B- at least." Mishima deadpanned. "Some of us were too busy with Aggro and distractions."

"A job!"

"C++!"

"B+!"

"... eh. that works." mishima relented, shrugging at the blonde.

"In any case," Kawakami spoke. "We now know how to not instigate a cognitive collapse."

"Right…" the group fell into silence once again….

"So….. I have a...slight idea, and hear me out on this! What if we-"

* * *

_?_

_Interrogation room_

"And that's how Kamoshida had his heart changed." Akira finished.

"And you're sure you're not lying about any of this?" Sae inquired.

"Yes, I'm not entirely in the position to lie."

"In any other case, I wouldn't believe you…"

_~see!?~_

"But this little group of yours… "Phantom Thieves" as people call it, has been known to pull off the impossible… so I'll reserve my judgement for now." turning a page from the folder spread out on the table. She continued. "I'll skip through some lesser cases and start with your second case: your next victim was Ichiryusai Madarame, a professional japanese artist arrested for negligence and plagiarism."

_~oh that guy. The vanity Asshole.~_

"Care to explain this case then?"

_~Kay Kira, it happened later on in the month…~_

* * *

_Sunday 8th_

_Leblanc's_

_Night_

The familiar jingle of chains echoed throughout the room as both Akira and Arata once again meet face to face with the residents of the "velvet room".

"Greetings Trickster and friend. I'd like to begin by congratulating you." "Igor" greeted.

"To think our master would give you words of praise." Justine replied.

"Better be grateful inmates!" Caroline added.

_~Carol, Justy! Our lovely little Lazulies, nice to see you guys too.~_ Arata said. _~we really appreciated that little stunt you two pulled in our world by the way.~_

"Thank you."

"You have encountered allies with shared aesthetics, and you have found your place in reality." "Igor" continued " the time has come… your rehabilitation will soon begin."

_~hold on beak nose, you're telling us that the Rehab didn't even start yet!?~_

"Don't push your luck inmate!"

"I shall elaborate more on your rehabilitation now. You have a special potential inside of you trickster, however, that must be refined into a useful power. It is weak now, but refining it shall grant you strength to stand against the coming ruin."

_~huh… so we have to train it up to take on the catastrophe… seems doable.~_

"That is the rehabilitation set upon you. There are various means by which you may go about obtaining the power to resist the ruin. Fighting shadows and gaining experience is one way.

_~grind the shit out of everything, gotcha.~_

"Pay attention! And knock off the commentary!"

_~never!~_

"The fusion process I taught you prior is another method of refinement."

"Are either of you two listening Inmates!?" Caroline shouts out.

"It would suit you well to heed this advice." Justine continued. " though it may be presumptuous of us, we have words of wisdom as well."

"When you're out there in reality, you'd better hone those relationships you've made your contracts with."

"Spending time with those people will help cultivate those relationships with them."

"If you have time to waste, you'd better spend that with your contractors inmates."

"That is another source of power to evade the ruin that our master has mentioned."

Ready to speak once more, "Igor" snapped his fingers, gaining everyone's attention. "Thanks to the contracts you have formed, your heart is steadily gaining the power of opposition. It seems the rehabilitation is going well. This is a truly joyous occasion."

_~wait, i thought you said-~_

"Thus, I will give you an ability befitting your newfound growth. Consider it a gift." a black orb appeared from his outstretched hand as he flicks it over to the two prisoners. The orb phased into Akira's chest as a chill went down both their spines.

"May the devotion to your rehabilitation grow even deeper. I have high hopes of you"

_~Are we just going to ignore-~_

A loud ringing was heard throughout the room. "The time is drawing to a close." Justine said.

"Time's up, go home Inmates!, and don't forget your contractors!"

_~Just wait a second!~_ Arata shouts before both were blanketed by darkness.

…

…

…..

Opening their eyes, both males were once again in the makeshift room in Leblanc's

"This is getting hectic… and we just started too."

_~Hey, come on Kira. at least you weren't interrupted.~_

"I barely spoke at all that time."

_~still relying on me to be the voice of the pair eh?~_

"Screw off…" Akira sighed. Silence befell them afterwards. "I wonder how Nan's doing…"

_~Who knows, hopefully she's safe and peaceful over there.~_

"Yeah… hey Arata. I feel like we have a bit too much to do… what can we do again?"

_~well there's the daily quests, synchronization, fusion, assimilate, dismantle, voidtex…~_

"Hell, that's a lot by itself, and that's not mentioning the fact that we have to nurture our friendship with everyone."

_~true… so, what do you wanna do now that you're awake?~_

"hmm…"

* * *

_Tuesday 10th_

_Shujin academy_

_Afternoon_

A few days later, the current group of Phantom thieves, sans Kawakami, Shiho and Mishima lounged about on the rooftop of the facility, plotting on what to do next.

"Hey, Arata… just a thought, but don't we have a confidant?" Akira asks, gaining the godling's attention.

_~I mean… yeah, we should at least have one… hang on.~_ flicking his fingers, a black screen appeared before them.

**Confidants: Akira Amamiya-Kurusu**

**Aratakaja Beldiriver: Maxed (Arcana: UNKNOWN)**

**Ryuji Sakamoto: Rank 2 (Arcana: Chariot)**

**Morgana: Rank 2 (Arcana: Magician)**

**Ann Takamaki: Rank 1 (Arcana: Lovers)**

**Yuuki Mishima: Rank 1 (Arcana: Moon)**

**Shiho Suzui: Rank 1 (Arcana: Knight)**

**Sadayo Kawakami: Rank 1 (Arcana: Temperance)**

"**Igor": Rank 2: (Arcana: Fool)**

_~How is it unknown?~_

"How should I know?" shrugging, Akira pressed Arata's name on the confidant list. A separate list appeared below the name.

**Aratakaja Beldiriver: Maxed (Arcana: UNKNOWN)**

**Rank 1: Soul unlock- allows access to skills and magic in reality**

**Rank 2: **

**Rank 3: Soulsona burst- increases max persona skills to 10**

**Rank 4:**

**Rank 5: Destiny link- doubles chance of raising confidants**

**Rank 6:**

**Rank 7: Soulsona Burst EX- increases max persona skills to 12**

**Rank 8:**

**Rank 9: Unity limit- other confidants have access to each others abilities**

**Rank Max: Limit Breaker- Access to special skills "Utopia", "Dystopia", "Overclock" and grants the hidden Persona ****Belderiver**

"...the hell?"

"Uuugh… there's nothing going on with Mishima's site." Ryuji groaned, leaning on a chair whilst looking through his phone. "Everyone's just bitchin' about their parents or boyfriends… there ain't even a hint of a palace hint."

"We can't get everything online…" Ann replied. "Posting a name and location is asking a lot."

"Then we'll just have to find one ourselves then…"

"Are you suggesting that we find a target that even the police have overlooked?" Morgana asks.

"Yeah… you're right. We should look after exams are over…" Ryuji sighed in disappointment. Meanwhile, off to the side, Akira and Arata are having their own conversation.

"What about Arsene? What's his stats?" Akira asked.

_~hang on, give me a second.~_

**Arsene Lv. 25 (FOOL)**

**Str: 6**

**Mag: 29**

**End: 28**

**Agi: 28**

**Luk: 33**

**Skills:**

**Eiga**

**Deathika**

**Mamudo**

**Dream Needle**

**Spirit Drain**

**Pulinpa**

**Curse Amp**

**Mudo Boost**

**Resist Ice**

**Growth 3**

**[blank]**

**[blank]**

"... didn't this use to be 8 skills?"

_~looks like these "Soulsona bursts" gave you more to play with…~_

Their conversation was cut short when the sound of a door closed, gaining the group's attention. That turned into mild fear and annoyance when they found that the person at the door was none other that Makoto.

"Oh, miss Nijima… what are you-" was all Akira got before clamming up at the light yet powerful half glare she was giving everyone.

"This place is off limits for a reason, you know." she said.

"We'll get outa here when we're done chattin'." Ryuji retorted. "What's the school prez want with us anyway?

"The troublemaker, the girl of rumor, and the transfer student… interesting combination."

_~wait…~_ Arata said, looking for a bit to find Morgana hiding behind some plants._ ~oh, there you are… Pussy.~_

"What are you implying exactly, miss Nijima?" Akira said.

"Oh, Nothing, just intrigued. By the way… you seem to know a bit about Mr. Kamoshida in a short amount of time…"

"..."

"So what's this, an interrogation?" Ryuji chipped in. "Some weird method you created to make us talk about stuff you'd probably already know?"

"Word around the grapevine says that Mr. Kamoshida made a volleyball member leak your personal records…" Makoto continued. "Don't you hate him? Kamoshida, I mean."

"What are you trying to get out of us?" Akira answered finally.

"Nothing much… rumors and statements about Kamoshida are going around like the plague, then there are the rumors about that calling card."

"I didn't expect someone like you to care about this stuff, Nijima."

"Or much at all for that matter…" Ryuji muttered, standing up. "Anyways, we done here? We can't leave if you're keepin' us."

"The least you could do is try to understand my position. Having to deal with this horseplay…"

"Horseplay!?" Ann shouts out in confusion.

"Oh, I almost forgot… this place will be closed off due to the incident. The last thing we need are more attempts. I heard that certain people were coming up here without permission too."

_~this girl is fucking with us.~_ Arata grumbled. _~abusing her authority like that…~_

"I'm sorry to have interrupted you. Oh and by the way, Kurusu, if you have the time, i'd like to talk with you about some stuff." Makoto finished, leaving the rooftop afterwards.

"...she's onto us." Morgana said.

_~well shit.~_

"Crap, she probably saw through the Game coverup." Ryuji moaned.

"That girl's rather sharp, we should be cautious of her."

_~that's good and all, but where are we gonna go now? We lost our first base and Mishima, Haru, Shiho and Ms. K. don't know about that yet.~_

"We'll get to that later." Akira reassured the godling.

"Ugh.. she really pissed me off. Talk about a pain in the ass…"

"Well… I may have something that'll fix that." the cat creature stated, gaining everyone's attention."

* * *

"Remind me again why we're at the train station?" Mishima asked, the group now mostly reformed, sans Kawakami, stood around in the familiar area of transportation.

"Just do as I told you, Okay? Morgana answered.

"Alright, I got this Phansite thing up. Now what?" Ryuji said, holding out his phone.

"Look for a post with a full name in it."

"I already said, there's no info on any big shots, remember?"

"Here's one." Haru said, pulling out her own phone. Looking at it, Ann read it aloud.

"I don't know what to do about my Ex who's stalking me. His name is Natsuhiko Nakanohara…" Ann said. "Says he's a teller at city hall."

"A government officer stalkin' someone?"

"That's a suitable target. Alright. Now get the meta-nav ready."

_~meta-nav? When did we name that?~_

Opening up the app on his phone, Akira typed in the new target's name.

"Now put in for the place "Mementos." then let it take over from then on."

"What're you tryin' to pull cat?"

"Just do it. It will work." adding mementos to his phone, the group looked on at the ravenette's device.

*Candidate found*

"Wait… we got a hit!?" Ryuji said.

"Told you." Morgana retorted. The world distorted in a familiar black and red.

Arriving on the other side, the group of 8 looked around to find nobody else there with them, despite looking like nothing happened in the scenery.

"Everyone disappeared!?" Ann yelped.

"Is this that Nakanohana guy's palace?" Ryuji asked, getting a cat's shake of his head as an answer.

"You're half right; this place, Mementos, is much more than just _his_ palace." Morgana clarified. "Anyways, let's head down. The shadows are lurking underground. Don't really know why though…"

Shrugging, Akira advanced towards the stairs, everyone followed suit behind him. When they made it to the bottom of the stairs, the first thing they noticed was that they were wearing their Phantom thief outfits.

"The hell is this place?" Ryuji asked. "And why are we in our PT outfits?"

"The shadows know we're here?" Ann yelps.

"Wait really? We just got here!" Mishima yells.

"Don't worry, we're safe up here. I've checked. They never come up to this floor." Morgana answered. "It's a different story when you go down though… they're teeming down there."

"I'm more curious about this Mementos than that honestly." Haru said. "Where are we exactly?"

"Mementos is… Everyone's palace."

_~everyone?~_

"Everyone. A palace as grand as that castle from earlier can only form when the person's wishes are extremely distorted. So instead of everyone having a specific palace, the general public has one gigantic, shared palace. That's where we are."

"So everyone's generic distorted desires are here, while the stronger ones form their own?" Akira asked.

"Yep. think of it as the collective unconscious… nevermind, you guys wouldn't understand that."

"So that means that we might be able to change people's hearts who don't have a palace?" Shiho said.

"Correct! Though the steps to do so are slightly different here."

"But this place looks pretty huge… are we gonna get anywhere just by walkin'?"

"Leave that to me! Morgana TRANSFOOOORM!" leaping into the air, Morgana span in a glow of light, a giant poof later, he touched down… as a small cat like bus. "...huh, i thought i'd be smaller… oh well, come now. ladies first!"

"A-a car!?" Ann shouts out.

"No Way!" Ryuji shouts out.

_~Why is this a thing!?~_

"This is from the way cognition materialized in here… plus a bit of training. It's not different from how you guys transform."

_~yeah, but why a bus!?~_

"For some reason, "cats turning into busses" is an extremely widespread cognition among the general public."

"My neighbor Totoro." Akira said simply.

"Huh?" was everyone's reply.

_~oh yeah, that ghibli movie from way back when. Nan loved that movie.~_

"Wait… why didn't you do this at the castle!?" Ryuji yelled

"That place was cramped, had tons of stairs, and there's now way this was gonna fit on a chandelier!"

"Oh… shotgun!" he yelled back, running into the Morgana-mobile.

"Wha- Hey! Ryuji, Ladies first!"

* * *

After an hour and a half of Joker(akira) driving around, looting, killing shadows, adding more persona to Joker, and running one over. They finally found the person they were looking for.

"**WhO ArE YoU!?"** the shadowy figure demands.

"Are you that Stalker Nakanohara!? Haven't you ever stopped to consider how your ex feels?" Panther retorted. The shadow in turn growled at the group.

"**ShE's My PrOpErTy! I CaN dO wHaTeVeR i WaNt WiTh HeR!"**

_~No you can't!~_ Reaper shouts back.

"**It'S NoT lIkE sHe DiDn'T tReAt Me LiKe A pLaYtHiNg! WhAt'S WrOnG wItH mE dOiNg ThE sAmE!?"**

"You can't treat someone like shit, just because they did it to you!" Skull shouts out. "That's a load of crap! We're gonna change the hearts of all the bastards like you!"

"**ThErE aRe MiLlIoNs Of PeOpLe FaR wOrSe ThAn Me!" shadow Nakanohara roared. "WhAt AbOuT mAdArAmE!? He StOlE eVeRyThInG fRoM mE, bUt YoU'rE lEtTiNg HiM oFf ThE hOoK!?"**

_~who the hell is Macaroni~_

"Madarame." Joker corrected.

_~yeah who's that?~_

"No clue."

Roaring indignantly, the shadow erupted in black and red, transforming into a demon thing with eyes everywhere.

"Get, ready, Here it comes!" Morgana shouts out, everyone drawing their weapons.

"**WRAAAGH!"** the shadow lunged aiming for Noir, but a pink veil kept him in place.

_~good Psychic attack Noir! Hey Joker, let's try one of those new moves.~_

"Right, Pulinpa!" Joker commanded, Arsene swinging his chains at the bound demon thing, a pink and yellow ring of stars orbited around it before it collided into its body, making it scream in pain. This startled noir into losing focus, dropping the shadow.

"I got this!" Skull yelled, rearing up for a mighty swing-

_Fling_

***BONK***

"OW!" only for him to be smacked in the face face from an item the shadow threw at him.

"Skull! You okay!?" Akuma shouts out, Skull giving a thumbs up in response.

"Why you little!" he then got up again to attack, but was once again blindsided by the demon chucking a ton of money at him.

"AGH, WHY!?"

_~um… is this normal?~_

"Not… really." Mona shrugged.

"Alright, screw this!" Skull shouts out, throwing out a charge of zio at it, stunning it, and knocking it down.

"So lightning hurts it? Nice!"

"Finish it off!" Shinobi shouts out, unleashing a barrage of arrows at the downed shadow. Soon after everyone followed suit and obliterated it.

A few minutes later of fighting, and others getting beaned by items and yen, the group finally had it on the ropes.

"**W-wait, I-I was wrong! Please forgive me!"** Nakanohara pleaded, reverting back to the human form as he cowered before the group.

_~anyone else feels like this was anticlimactic?~ _Reaper asked, nobody answered. _~no? Ok.~_

"**That evil teacher used me, then threw me out in the street. That's what caused my fixation on her."**

_~macarena did that?~_

"Madarame."

_~don't care.~_

"Anyways, is this Madarame guy the evil teacher who did that to you?" Panther asked.

"**Yeah… I just didn't want anyone to throw me out again…"**

"So some selfish bastard was making you suffer too…"

"Still, that doesn't mean you should drag an unrelated woman into your mess."

"**Yes… I know that now…. I'll stop my stalking habit with her."** Nakanohara meekly said. **"Hey. you guys can change people's hearts, right?"**

"Yeah…" Akuma answered. "Why?"

"**Then won't you change Madarame's heart!? Before more people fall victim to him."**

Before they could give an answer, the shadow glowed white, disappearing into thin air, the remains of where he stood was a glowing item.

_~i assume that's his "treasure" so to speak?~_

"Yep."

"Still though… change Madarame's heart?" Panther asked.

"Anyways, so that guy had a change of heart, right?" Skull asked instead.

"Yep. that's how it works." Mona answered. "And it sounds like we got a lead out of it too."

_~cool! Now then-~_

"Hang on! We still have something to do down here first!"

_~aw what?~_

"It won't take long."

…

…

A few minutes later, the group found that they have arrived at a dead end, a red and black vortex blocking the path.

_~ok, so what now, do we stare at this spider web thing?~_

"There's more to this than meets the eye. Let me…" Mona stated, touching the wall in front of him. Suddenly, in a loud rumble, the wall slid open like an automatic door.

"It… it opened!?" Panther yelled out.

*a new area has been confirmed in the depths. Updating guidance information.*

"See!? Just as I thought!" Mona cheered.

"What do you mean?"

"Last time I was here alone, this was all that I could get to, but I figured that there must be more than just this area. I just had to figure out why and how to work around that."

"Well then, should we continue forward?" Shinobi suggested, the cat shaking his head being her answer.

"Let's not. That's not why we're here today, remember?" Mona continued. " we've done our objective for today, let's rest and regroup back in reality. I'll explain more there." nodding at this, the group began to head back the way they came, but not before Mona tugged on Joker's coat.

"Oh, and Joker, Lord Philemon and Master Igor wants to talk to you later."

* * *

**The next saga Comences! Now we're getting to the second palace of the series. Side note: P5R is coming out on Halloween!**

**Fangasm aside, not much to say here. **

**TBC**


	9. Chapter 9: Yusuke and the 3 demons

**YAY!**

**Okay so… I read on the main site, and wiki about P5R and P5S, (YES i am including these into this as well.) and I was delighted to know that they aren't just redoing the original storyline, just adding onto it with a few tweaks sprinkled in. so, now that we got that, I'm gonna incorporate events from p5R as well.**

**And with the stuff going around about P5S being a canonical SEQUEL, needless to say, there's potential for more plot AFTER the main story is completed.**

**Anyways, i wanted to add elements of other Atlus games here as well, but my research was kinda everywhere, so… keep an eye out for them.**

**BTW, i might need help with some events with the extra shit P5R is giving us, so for now, this chapter will be SLIGHTLY slower in terms of pace.**

* * *

Meanwhile, whilsts the PTs were entering mementos…..

"Sojiro? You here?" Kawakami asks, entering the familiar coffee shop. The first, or rather only, scene she sees is a small conversation between several of the current occupants.

Obviously, the first one she spots was Sojiro, tending to a batch of curry behind the counter.

The next two, the only females she knew of the group, were the next to be seen, one was a darkish blue haired woman in a punk rock attire, and the second brunette had a more reporter like appearance, signifying that they were Tae and Ohya respectively to the teacher.

The fourth person in the shop, was a gruff looking man. He didn't wear much to catch the eye, but the familiar cap gave it way to her that it was Iwai.

The fifth was a rather portly man in a dark blue suit. It didn't really take long to find out that it was Yoshida.

The last of the group in the shop was someone she didn't expect to come though…

"Um… Sojiro, who're these two?" Kawakami asks, looking at the rather familiar looking duo. _"They look familiar, but…"_ she thought to herself.

"Oh, don't mind them, they're just some friends of mine from way back; they're Akira's parents."

"Akira's… parents!?" she yipped, gazing at the married couple. Now that she looks them over once more, she does see resemblances of Akira in both of them.

"Pleasure to meet all of you." the woman, a rather petite revenette, greeted the group. "I'm Schala Kurusu. This here is my beloved, Serge Amamiya."

"..." the slightly taller, blue haired male nodded in greeting at his name.

"Anyways, don't mind us. Please, continue."

"... i don't know…" Kawakami murmured. _"well, worse case scenario, I just make something up…"_

"Don't worry, they know quite a bit of crazy stuff, surprisingly." Sojiro replied, reassuring her.

"_Aw crap, here goes…"_ "So… I found these slips of paper in one of my classrooms the other day." Kawakami started, laying a small stack on the counter. "At first I thought they were random notes, or something like that, so I skimmed through some of them, and said what was on one of them. Shrugging at the odd name i tossed one away, and surprise, surprise, my trash bin bursts into flames."

"It burst into flames? That sounds unlikely." Tae interrupted.

"Believe me, if i didn't see it, I would've said the same." looking back at the slips of paper, Kawakami internally panicked to not only see some of it missing, but Sojiro looking over a few.

"What even are these words? What the hell is a **Bufu** anyways?"

"Wait, Sojiro don-"

Setting his slips on the ground, none of the group were prepared for what happened next. One second, the slip labeled bufu lightly touched a mug of coffee on the counter, the next second, both the slip, the coffee in the mug AND the mug itself instantaneously froze into a block of ice. Needless to say, the reactions are just as instant…

"The Hell!?" Sojiro yelled out, jumping back lightly.

"What!?" Tae, Schala and Ohya yelled as well, Serge covering his wife protectively in the process.

"... did that coffee turn into an ice cube?" Iwai casually said, surprise etched on his face.

"Kawakami, what happened?" Yoshida shouts out, gaining the teacher's attention.

"T-that's what happened to my trash bin too, except i read Maragi!"

"No way… let me see that." Iwai shrugs, taking a few more slips from the pile. "The hell even are these? Potshot?"

"H-hang on! I found out that if you say the name and let go, it activates!" Kawakami warned, preventing the man from tossing the slip.

"And how do you know this?"

"I may have accidentally shouted a few on the way here… before dropping them."

"Wait…" Yosihda said, pondering a bit. "there was news going around about a sudden earthquake and power surge near here… was that you?"

"ANYWAYS, that's not the only thing that I wanted to talk about!" Kawakami shouts out, gaining everyone's attention once more. "Whenever i used those slips, being intentional or not, it gave me a bit of… nostalgia."

"Nostalgia?" Ohya repeated.

"Yeah, like i've done this before...i don't know why though and I've been giving myself headaches trying to find out why on my own. I was wondering if you guys at least felt the same, just in case I wasn't the only one."

Silence befell the group as they thought about the events seconds prior.

"Hey… now that you mention it, that DID feel somewhat familiar." Sojiro finally says.

"Really!? So I'm not the only one who thinks this is weird, right?"

"That's a gross understatement, but yeah…" Iwai sighed. "What about you two, anything ring a bell here?"

"Actually, yes." Schala confirms, startling the rest of them. "If I recall, there were some rumors, and texts revolving around this sort of thing. It's back home, but i do think i have at least something that might shed some light."

"Oh, would you please consider giving us that info? That could be the scoop of the century right there!" Ohya pleaded. "Just imagine it: magic paper: the new world's-"

"Ohya we're NOT going to take this to the public, they'll erupt into panic!" Yoshida shouts out.

"Well, what about you guys?" Kawakami said. "I got Sojiro's answer, but what about you?"

"...I'd be lying if I said that some of these don't ring any bells…" Tae sighed, handing the slips she snagged from Iwai back to her.

"Same here."

"Yep yep!"

"As odd as it is, it does bring back nostalgia… somehow. You said it was in your classrooms, correct? Did you know which student had these?" Yoshida continued.

"No, I found them at the end of the day, and nobody else was there."

"Hmm… well, something's going on here, and now I'm too curious to let it slide." Sojiro stated. "Just keep it on the down low for now, alright? We still have lives to live."

"Of course, let me know if you find out about anything… you guys still have our contacts right?" Kawakami asked, confirmatory replies were her answer.

"As riveting as this is, I was wondering something for a while now…" Shala said. "How is my baby boy doing in school anyways?"

* * *

_~why do I get the feeling that our lives are in jeopardy right now?~_

"I don't know…" Akira shrugged ready to take out the Velvet room key before-

_*BZZZT*_

Taking out the phone, and ignoring the peeking Ryuji, Akira looked onto the phone… and scowled at the number attempting to call him.

_Incoming call: Rise_

With a few taps on his phone, he held it up to his ear. "Leave me alone." was all he said, not even waiting for a reply before hanging up and deleting the number, blocking the contact for good measure.

"Uh… dude, who was that?" Ryuji asked, concerned at the sudden 180 his leader just pulled.

"Nobody. Let's move on." was all the ravenette said, walking forward into the Velvet room. The rest of the team followed soon after, the sudden twist to akira's mood lingering in their minds.

"Greetings Trickster and friends." Philemon greeted. "You seem to be in a foul mood this time."

"Hey Philemon… I just… got a bit mad for a bit."

_~yeah, Phil… just a blast from the past… a bad one at that, don't worry.~_

"Hmm… whether that be the case or not, we are confident in your decision to disclose this should you feel the need to. However, there is a pressing matter to address."

"Really?" Akira asked. "What is it?"

"There is something stirring within the world, both real and spiritual." Igor stated, fluttering over to Philemon. "We're trying to get a better grasp on what exactly this is. As of right now, I recommend that you unlock the other potential's Beldirever."

_~is that all you had to tell us?~_

"Not quite." Philemon continued. "Just in case things get out of hand, I have a failsafe created before your initial arrival Trickster." pulling out a heart shaped crystal from his jacket, Philemon hands it over to the group. "There are similar users of persona hidden in the common eye. I had requested their aide a while ago to help weaken the demiurge's influence at the time. I sealed their memories of the event since they requested to live their lives peacefully, but I fear that we may need their aide once more."

"Coincidentally enough, you've met quite a few of them before." igor said.

_~we have?~_

"Indeed. They may not know it, but they do carry potential. Before we ask of you to seek out these individuals however, we implore you to collect these memory fragments first; they are of different colors, but all are in the shape of a heart."

"Find heart crystals. Got it."

_~alright, Ann come here!~_ Arata said, pulling the blonde to the side. Placing her hand on his chest and his on hers, Arata began his chant.

_~I am Thou… Thou Art I…_

_I grant thou the __**key**__ of thy soul…_

_Thy__** potential**__ shall bring forth a new power…_

_I grant thou the bow of the__** Lovers**__,_

_That shall __**unite **__the fragments of truth…~_

A red veil of heat flowed through her body, a wave of light and flames dancing around her.

"What is… wow."

_~Shiho. You're up.~_ the mentioned girl stepped forward in which arata repeats his chant.

_~I am Thou… Thou Art I…_

_I grant thou the __**key**__ of thy soul…_

_Thy potential shall bring forth a new __**power**__…_

_I grant thou the __**shield **__of the Knight,_

_to which thou shall __**protect**__ your ideals from ruin…_~

A gold light illuminated around Shiho, sounds of chains echoed throughout the room as the girl stared in awe of her newfound strength.

"I feel… Amazing.."

_~and finally, Mishima. Come here.~_ the last of the group stood in front of the godling., to which he repeats.

_~I am Thou… Thou Art I…_

_I grant thou the key of thy__** soul**__…_

_Thy __**potential **__shall bring forth a new power…_

_I grant thou the drive of the__** Moon**_

_That will guide your way in the deepest of darkness…~_

A deep black line of aura surged through Mishima, tightening his muscles slightly with newly unlocked power.

"Whoa… this feels..."

"That is all for now, Trickster and friends. We shall inform you of any updates to this conundrum when we find out more." Philemon stated. "Till we meet again."

* * *

_Saturday 14th_

_Train station_

_Early morning_

After several grueling days of surprise quizzes and tests, with Ryuji surprisingly scoring in the top ten to most of the group's shock, we now find Akira, Arata, Shiho and Ryuji talking to the side.

"I'm telling you, a friend of mine is coming here to settle down soon, all i'm proposing is that we go up there and say hi." Ryuji said.

"And why is she coming here in the first place?" Shiho asked. "We don't really know much about this friend of yours. So…"

"Something about a crossover gig. Speaking of which…"

"I hope you're not fawning over another pop singer." Ann said, walking over to join the group. "It's bad enough that you are all gaga over Risette."

"Were Dammit! That was just a phase!"

"..."

"Umm… Akira, Arata?" Morgana stated. "Are you two alright? You seem pretty tense."

_~we're fine, Mona, just… ~_

"It's alright, it's in the past…" Akira droned out, as if he practiced that line as some form of mantra.

"Anyways, so what're we gonna do now?" Ryuji asked once more.

_~first and foremost, we celebrate: the whole group's in the top ten! That's party worthy!~_

"Party worthy?" a new voice adds on, startling the whole group. Turning behind themselves, Akira sighed as it was merely Kasumi.

"Uh… what's this about a party?" Shiho redirected, aiming to throw the girl off.

_~don't bother gang, she can see me.~_

"HUH!?" all three other members shouted.

"You're ghost friend said something about a party. What tricks are you going to pull on these innocent civilians!?"

"...what?" Ryuji deadpanned.

_~she thinks I'm a ghost haunting Kira.~_

"You ARE a ghost haunting him, there's no other explanation!"

_~oi, keep your voice down, lass, you're gonna make a scene!~_

"Well, no use running now… hey, Kasumi, wanna join us?" Akira asked. Further shocking the rest of the group.

"W-w-what!? Why would i-"

"Think of it like this; the more you hang out with me and my… ghost, the easier it will be to exorcise him, as long as you keep it a secret."

"Hmm… you do make a valid point…"

_~...oh I see what you're doing.~_ Arata whispered in Akira's ear. _~alright girl, listen up. I'm gonna challenge you. If you can successfully exorcise me, then I'll turn into a benevolent spirit that will gift you and your future generations for your heroism, BUT you mustn't let anyone know of this, me, or any of your attempts to purify me.~_

"Still your tongue ghost, I'll take your challenge if only to save this poor boy of your malice!" Kasumi retorted.

_~Fine then!~_

"...what the hell is happening?" Ann asked out of the blue.

"That was us getting Kasumi to keep quiet about Arata in public." Akira whispered to the group. "Anyways, the train's here." Akira said, the group, plus Kasumi, boarded the train, Ann being the only one shivering at the idea of someone watching her.

* * *

A few minutes later, the group managed to find out the cause for Ann's discomfort, a tall, blue haired male was following close behind the group, and they had caught him in the act.

"Alright, spill, what're you doing stalking our friends like that?" Ryuji asked, ready for a fight should the case go south.

"Stalking? That's outrageous." the male addressed.

"Then what's your deal, huh? Why are you following us?" Ann continued.

" when I say you from the car, I couldn't help myself from chasing after you…" the male replied. "I didn't even notice my sensei calling out to me, but thank goodness I caught up to you."

"Ok… that doesn't explain why though…" Shiho said.

In a sudden surge of emotions, the male raised his voice. "You're the woman I've been searching for all this time! Please won't you-"

_~OH shit! Kira punch him quick!~_

"W-wait a minute I-" Ann stammered.

"-Be my model for my next art piece!?" the male finished.

Silence enveloped the group as the digested what the male in front of them said.

"...model?"

_~oh, wait… so this is a misunderstanding? Oh i thought he was gonna propose to her.~_

"All that I've drawn until now have been lacking, but i feel a passion from you like no other."

"This man is highly suspicious!" Morgana hissed, to which Arata rubbed his head.

_~calm down, fuzzball.~_

"Will you accept my offer? What do you say?"

"Um…"

_*BEEP BEEP*_

"Tch.. they're already here…" the man sighed. Digging into his pockets. "Here, these are tickets to the exhibition where Madarame sensei is holding his art gallery."

"Hold the hell on, dude! Who even are you!?"

"Ah, where are my manners. I'm a second year at Kosei high's fine arts division. My name's Yusuke Kitagawa."

_~fine arts division? So he's serious about her being a model for art… wait~_

"Madarame?" Morgana repeated, deep in thought.

_*BEEP BEEP BEEEEEP*_

"I-I'm Coming!" here, take these. I'll also be there." Yusuke said, putting several tickets into Ann's hands. "I really appreciate it if you could give me an answer soon. But i must be off. Please consider my offer." and with that, Yusuke entered the car as it drove off when he closed the door.

"Hmm… Madarame." Morgana mumbled.

_A few hours later…_

"Why did I agree to come to this again?" Mishima whined halfheartedly. "I was in the middle of info gathering."

"Oh, calm yourself, Yuuki." Haru countered. "I'm surprised this Yusuke fellow gave you enough tickets for all of us."

_~I'm surprised you didn't get one yourself, Haru.. aren't you like a modern day princess or something?~_

"No comment."

After talking with the rest of the group, bar Kawakami, who said that she had things to do in school, the group, the now expanded group entered the surprisingly crowded art gallery listed on the tickets.

"Ah, it's you!" Yusuke cheered lightly, walking towards the group… only to lightly scowl at the males. "You you all actually came with her…"

"What did you expect when you shoved a shit ton of tickets at us?" Ryuji retorted.

"Just be sure to not get in the way of the other visitors, alright, there are several reporters here as well." Yusuke then looked at Ann. "come now, I'll show you around the exhibit, I'd like to discuss more about the piece I plan to draw as well."

"Um.. would it be okay if my friend shiho joined too?"

"I don't see why not."

"Great!" Ann cheered, the two girls following the blunette, whispering in Akira's ear as she passed. "We'll keep an eye on Yusuke, just try not to cause trouble."

Nodding at them, the rest of the group were left to their own devices. After calming morgana down, looking around the place, and nearly getting mauled by a stampede of fans, the group regrouped in an accessway near the place.

"Thank god we made it out!" Ryuji cheered, slumping down near the guardrail.

_~we even lost Kasumi in the crowd too, so…~_

"What's the deal with her anyways?" Haru asked.

_~not important.~_

"Why'd you leave without us!?" Ann shouts out, both her and Shiho walking towards the group.

"You lot scared us when we couldn't find you anywhere."

"We almost died via human avalanche, we had no choice but to leave!" Mishima sighed.

"Enough about that! Look at this!" Ryuji said pulling out his phone to the group. " this post might be about Madarame. It says that the guy's plagiarizing his pupil's work as his own. Only his face is shown in public."

"Plagiarizing!?"

"Not only that, but there seems to be rumors of sexual misconduct/harassment as well."

"Okay, now I now that's fake."

_~is it, Takamaki? IS it really?~_

"W-wha, I don't know!"

Whilst the group bickers about, Akira pulls out his own phone and opened the meta-nav.

"Ichiryusai Madarame." he whispered into the phone.

_*Candidate found.*_

This promptly shuts the group up. Turning to the leader of the group, they saw the now partially filled navigation app on his phone.

"so … at least we know he has a palace." Akira said.

_~wow due… just… wow.~_

"Shut up."

"Hey… I heard something about Madarame and "shack" in someone's conversation, y'know, before we got trampled. Try adding shack."

_*Candidate found*_

"Nevermind! that is two thirds of the puzzle solved."

_~hot damn, we're on a roll and we don't even know what we're doing.~_

"Now that you mention it…" Mishima added. "I think I read something about him too." pulling out his phone, Mishima read aloud. "His treatment to the pupils that live with him is awful. He teaches nothing, and only bosses them around. Even with more risque notions too."

"Risque?"

"He treats them inhumanely, as if they were nothing but dogs or slaves."

"So, Abuse, plagiarism, and potential sexual harassment, huh?" Morgana listed off. "That sounds like a job for us Phantom thieves."

"Wait, are they both guys? Why would Madarame and yusuke…"

"Actually…" Shiho said, gaining their attention. "We met with another pupil of Madarame, Ritsuka Kagutsuki, while we met with Yusuke."

"Yeah, she seemed… eager… to get close to him, and that look she gave us… it was like the girl was jealous."

_~aw shit, here we go again.~_

"To make matters worse, there was a third pupil too." Ann continued. "Some guy named Chado Chadomaru. From what Yusuke told us, the guy was like some pretentious prick who rivals him too."

"Great, so now we have to potentially save two to three people from the guy!?" Ryuji groaned.

"Did you get the address as to where they might be?" Haru asked.

"... umm…"

* * *

_Monday 16th_

_After school_

_~this isn't a shack, it's a goddamn stack of cards.~_

Arriving at their new destination, the group had mixed reactions of the rather shady looking building in front of them.

"Well, this is the right address…"

"Let's just get this over with…" Akira sighed, the group arriving at the entrance.

"Nobody sneeze alright." Morgana quipped as Ryuji rang the doorbell.

*who is it?* a rather familiar voice buzzed out an intercom at the door.

"It's me, Ann Takamaki."

*I'll be right out!... move Chado! Ritsuka put that down!*

"Uuuh." the group droned out. Suddenly the door opened, revealing three people. The first one was of course, Yusuke. The second one looked like a bulkier (albeit slightly), douchier clone of him, with brown hair instead of blue. The last one was a girl, with long black hair in twintails. Yusuke seems to be snarling at the two though..

"I told you two to fuc- Oh, Takamaki-..." Yusuke stopped when he found everyone else with her. "Oh… I thought you came alone…"

"Oh yusuke…" the girl named Ritsuka said, causing the blunette to shiver a tiny bit, "you never told us, that this… model… had some friends… rather good looking ones too." she finished, winking at the males, who shifted uncomfortably.

"Yeah, Blue balls, why didn't you tell me that you were bringing in some hotties?" the brownish version, Chado, continued.

"Go back to what you were doing you two, this doesn't concern you!" Yusuke snarled back at them. "Apologies for my… roommates… they're rather uncouth."

"No problem…"

_~these two reek of thot and dickbag…~_

"Please, come in. we can discuss the painting in my studio."

"Heh, why bother going to your pigsty of a room. Come on ladies, you can hole up in _my_ room if you like?" Chado said.

"Hm… if Takamaki is the only one you're using, then i'll house the boys. I have a few.. Special paintings in mind for them." Ritsuka said, sending shivers down all of the males spines.

"Just ignore them." Yusuke sighed.

A few minutes later, the PTs all agreed to stay in Yusuke's room, much to the other pupil's annoyance. The group stood around minding their own business as Yusuke began paining Ann, who sat in place in front of him.

_~God this is boring.~_

"I agree... " Morgana sighed. "Hey guys, Arata and I'll take a look around the place."

_~good idea. Grab on._~ snagging the cat from Akira's bag, the group nodded as the two entities left the room. Opting to go left first, the two found a rather highly decorated door with a hefty lock on it.

"What a suspicious looking door…"

_~wanna peek?~_

"We can open it?"

_~I'm a godling dude, phasing through walls is baby steps.~_

With that, the two phased through the door, several identical paintings were the only thing in the room, with one in the center covered by a tarp.

"Ugh, these are just paintings. Good ones, but still."

_~let's check elsewhere. For now.~_ exiting the painting room, they took a right this time, and managed to find a room with a plaque labeled "Chado's the king, Yusuke's a wimp" on the door.

_~geez this guy must really like grinding his dick on a chainsaw doesn't he?~_

"Yeah, what'd this guy have that Yusuke doesn't?"

Looking into the room, both almost had to suppress a gag at the sight before them. Various bras, panties, and drugs filled half the room, with the other half filled with abstract paintings and art supplies, holding their noses at the rather dense fog of incense and drugs in the air, both diverted their attention to the bed… and immediately went wide eyed at the sight of Chado-

Both tumbled out of the room, too shocked to speak for a few minutes.

_~d-did that guy…~_

"Y-yep."

_~and that girl…~_

"Uh huh…"

_~... godDAMMIT! It's JUST LIKE KAMOSHITA!~_

"And with all that drug usage, i think he drugged her into doing that."

_~let's find something else before I slit the boy's throat.~_

Opting to repress that rather… cursed image from their minds, the duo flew upwards to the next level of the house. Immediately finding Ritsuka's room, labeled "Ritsuka's Black Market".

_~why do I have a feeling that I don't want to know what's in there?~_

"Let's just take a quick peek…"

Phasing through the door once more, both cat guide and godling immediately regretted looking into here. Unlike Chado's room, Ritsuka's room was mostly drawing's paintings, and cameras. The problem? 90% of said art was… porn. Nude pinups, sexually implied dynamic shots, shameful looking portraits, PICTURES of the model for the pieces… and the biggest shock: they were ALL Yusuke. Yusuke nude models everywhere. And much to their horror, Ritsuka was there as well, growling and hissing aggressively as she-

_~Morgana let's get the FUCK OUTTA HERE!~_

"Go go go go go!" running back to the group like bats out of hell, the duo gasped and panted heavily at what they just saw…

_~i'm taking the annoyed blueberry over those two bastards any day.~_

"Good thing Yusuke just wants a model to paint, nothing to worry a-" the door flew open revealing a rather miffed PT crew. "Bout?"

"Ah, what's a cat doing here?"

* * *

"What did you guys find out?" Akira asked. "And why do you guys look… pissed?" the group convened across the street, in a spot where nobody can find them.

_~we got a bonafide THOT who sees yusuke as a boy toy, and Kamoshita 2.0 in there!~_

"WHAT!?" the rest of the group shouted out.

"The first place was a decorated room filled with identical paintings. That was fine… but we explored some more and found chado's room…"

_~the bastard has panties hanging like christmas ornaments, the room reeked of kush and booze, and chad was… he was fucking some girl… well more like beating the crap out of her.~_

"Why didn't you-"

_~I was tempted, but i couldn't or else we'd be caught, and the girl was too drugged up to think straight, let alone say anything! Besides, we fell on our asses by the sheer absurdity of it!~_

"Breathe Arata. Breathe"

"Anyways, we decided to check on Ritsuka's room… and…"

"What?" Haru asked.

"Yusuke may be more innocent than we initially thought." ignoring Ryuji's snort and retort, Morgana continued. "She's… she's a risque artist…"

_~risque's an understatement; her room's a fucking shrine of Yusuke for perverted whores! Nude paintings, sexual pinups, pictures. FUCKING PICTURES Kira!~_

"WHAT!?"

"Hang on… Mishima pulled up the app on his phone… "Ichiryusai Madarame, Ritsuka Kagutsuki, and Chado Chadomaru."

_*candidates found*_

Further shocking the whole group, all three names were on the SAME line meaning only one thing…

"Oh god… they're in on this!?" Ann shouts out.

"Try Yusuke too."

_*Candidate not found*_

_~oh thank god.~_ Arata wheezed. _~after what we've seen, Yusuke's the MOST innocent in that house of assholes.~_

"So we have them, the Shack… what do they think of their house?" Shiho asked.

"Must be something art related… like a museum or someth-"

_*candidate found. Beginning navigation*_

"IT WAS THAT EASY!?" everyone screams as the world distorts into black and red.

* * *

Monday 16th

Evening

Leblanc's

"Goddammit!" Akira hissed under his breath. Practically jackhammering the floor with his foot.

After exploring the horrendous museum, the group decided to call it quits for the day, not being able to take any of what the palaces showed them at that moment. Ignoring an awkward confrontation with a woman named Nijima, (might need to stay cautious around her), the triad of Arata, Akira and Morgana now sat in the room.

_~I know right! Those pricks are treating yusuke like crap at best!~_

"We can't let this slide. We have to steal their desires! If not for the Phantom thieves, then at least to save Yusuke!"

_**~I agree, this cannot go unpunished!~**_ Arsene shouts, appearing in the room as well, with Zorro following suit afterwards.

_~indeed. Though I do believe it would be better to kill them off instead.~ _Zorro added.

_~... i'm actually considering on that.~_

"Guys we are not going to kill them!" Akira said. "We will steal their hearts, and make sure Yusuke gets the help he needs."

_**~and should the off chance of them suffering in the process happen?~**_

"Well, I never said we can't make them suffer…" smirking at this, the group and persona turned in for the night, a new set of plans for what comes next.

* * *

**YAY! Madarame Arc!**

**I've added these two new characters just to add a little more spice to it. Expect more crap like this in the future. **

**TBC**


	10. Chapter 10: Turn of Events Pt 1

**HOT DAMN TWO IN A ROW!**

* * *

_Tuesday 17th_

_Mid-day_

_Shujin Academy_

Whilst the PTs are currently going over their next plan of action, Kawakami, true to her word, provided some aid to the group in the form of a so called "review day" which left the group to their own devices. Opting to stay silent during the class, the group formed a group chat for the current conversation:

**Ryu**: This is bullshit! If what Arata and Morgana said were true then..

**RenRen**: They were quite adamant about their claims, Ryuji.

**Floof**: but what about Yusuke? He may hate his fellow pupils, but it sounds like he really adores Madarame.

**Ryu**: yeah, that's gonna be a pain to deal with.

**Yuuki**: or… hear me out: we expose Madarame to him.

**Ann**: how? Last time we checked, we don't really have much evidence in our hands at the moment.

**Shiho**: What about that reporter lady we met?

**Yuuki**: I don't know, she does seem like she has something, but until we get a better read on her, I'd say we hold on that for now.

_~tell them about the painting room dude.~_ Arata whispered in his ear.

**RenRen**: Arata says there might be something in that locked room. Something about a hidden piece

**Ryu**: well, that might work, but how are we gonna get past that lock?

**Floof**:...

**Yuuki**:...

**Shiho**:... um… it got real quiet all of a sudden.

**Ryu**: …...Ann?

**Ann**: what?

**Ann**: guys? You're scaring me here.

**Ann**: WHAT!?

_Several hours later…_

"I am NOT doing this!" Ann screamed out, the group once again meeting outside the art shack of horrors.

"C'mon, Ann, it's the only way we can get close to the lock!" Ryuji countered.

"Don't worry, you'll have me to protect you!" Morgana said.

"That's still technically me though!"

Sighing heavily, gaining the group's attention, Akira steeled himself for what he was going to say next.

"I'll go too." was the only thing he said before hell broke loose.

"Hell. No!" Ryuji yelled.

"W-What!? Why are you saying that!?" Ann shouts out.

"If you don't want to do it, then I'll do it. I might be able to get ritsuka's attention." Akira explained, a subtle hint of doubt laced his voice. "All I have to do is stall long enough for Arata or Morgana to pick the lock, then lure Yusuke there."

"That's crazy!" most of the group shouts back.

"Crazy enough to work."

_~Sorry, I'm back, what's going on?~_ Arata spoke out returning to the group after he left a short while ago.

"Akira's trying to be a sacrificial lamb here in that slaughterhouse!"

_~...so you told them the plan? Just in time too, I just finished these lockpicks.~_

"... YOU WERE IN ON THIS!?"

_~Hey, this is just as bad for us too, ya know!~_ Arata shouts back._ ~we had to get a pep talk from __**Philemon**__ of all people just to get hyped enough to suggest the idea!~_

"Trust me… I really don't want to, but if Ann's uncomfortable with it, then we'll just settle for the next best thin-"

"OKAY FINE!" Ann, shouts out. "I'll go in! Just…"

"It's fine, Ann. we've got this. You guys get ready to warp to the palace."

"... we'll go together." Ann said, Akira sighed as he thought that she won't back down from this sudden decision.

"Fine, You stall and lure Yusuke, I'll distract Chado and Ristuka. Morgana and Arata will pick the lock. The rest will stakeout our last checkpoint and find a new safe room when we get it open. Sounds good?" after several thinking moments, the group all agreed to this, albeit reluctantly.

_~alright, into the hellscape we go!~_ Arata shouts out.

* * *

Shit hit the fan..

SHIT HIT THE FAN!

It was going perfectly at first, with Ann having a backup plan in the form of multiple clothing, and Akira practically competing against Chado in a "Flex off" (Akira gagged and promised to drown in mouthwash after he said it) with Ristuka undressing him with her eyes as they were going at it. Meanwhile, Arata and Morgana tried, and fails a few times mind you, to open the damn lock, they almost got it open too, and judging by the sound of things, both Akira and Ann were luring their targets closer to the place.

Then Madarame showed up..

Panicking, Akira took Ann's job of stalling yusuke as Ann saw the two entities still attempting to pick the lock… then Madarame found all of them (except the non-humans) in the hallways, demanding an explanation. A sudden click and a hefty thud was his answer as Akira and Ann, practically dragged Yusuke into the now open room, the rest of the residents followed suit.

Several shouts, insults, excuses and a threat to call police later, Ann, Arata, Akira, Morgana, and Yusuke, who were chasing them closely, were running to the door, a groaning Chado holding his now bruised nut-sack stopping the old man from advancing.

"And finally, before the could leave the house, and just before Yusuke had caught them, Arata had the bright idea to open Akira's Meta-nav…

"ARATA!?" Ann, Akira, and Morgana shouts out as they all warped out the door to the familiar palace.

_~I PANICKED!~_

"OH SHIIIIIIIT!"

What they didn't realize was that they didn't warp to the entrance of the palace… they warped to where the rest of the group were, outside the now open roadblock that they were stuck in earlier.

_~Look out below!~_

"Quick Monkey, get in the way!" Mona screamed.

"Da Hell did you call, me- what the shit!?" Skull yelped, several figures falling to their exact spot.

A clash of limbs and dust kicked up, blinding the group momentarily, when they managed to see though… they found a rather… odd appearance.. Or should I say addition.

"Uhh, guys?" Skull addressed, pointing to the second half of the group. "Why is HE here!?"

In their attempt to escape, they've fallen into the palace, unknowingly snatching up Yusuke in the process due to his close proximity. Now here he was, Carrying Panther in his arms, bridal style… before Mona crashed into him head first.

"OW!" the cat yelled.

"AGH!" Yusuke hissed in pain, still holding onto panther, who immediately regained her senses at what is happening right now.

"H-HEY! Will you let go already!?" Panther screeched, pushing Yusuke to the ground. "Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to push that hard!"

"What the hell happened up there!?" Akuma shouts out.

_~Shit hit the fan! We gotta finish this ASAP!~_ Reaper replied, helping Joker and Mona to their feet.

"Ugh…" Yusuke groaned, slowly sitting up from the ground where he landed. "Where… where am i?" looking around, he spotted several suspicious looking people. Eyes widening, he attempted to stand. "Who are you people!?"

"Hey, Hey! Calm down! It's me Takamaki!" Panther said.

_~the hell are you doing!?~_

"He saw us jump in, hell he's here right now, might as well come clean!"

"T-Takamaki?" Yusuke stammered. "Then these are…"

"Yeah, it's us." Joker nodded. Yusuke then turned to Reaper and Mona. "... I don't recall seeing a cat costume or a poltergeist though…

_~again with the goddamn ghost!~_

"What is this place?" yusuke asked, shaking his head at everything he was seeing.

"We're inside Madarame's heart." Panther answered, shocking the Blunette.

_~and not just his either, Ristuka and Chado's hearts are in here too: this is all of them put together~_

"Inside… their hearts? I'm sorry, Takamaki, but are you sure you're feeling okay?"

_~we should be asking you that!~_

"She ain't lying." Skull replied. "This is what those bastards truly feels."

_~yeah, they're nothing but a greedy nosedigger, douchebag, and megathot!~_

"That's enough!" Yusuke shouts out. "While I might agree on the douche and this… "thot" word describing my roomates, I will not abide with you all belittling my sensei!"

"Kitagawa, didn't it cross your mind that something wasn't right with them!?" Shinobi shouts back, making the bluenette pause.

"T-that's…"

"Believe it or not, this is another reality that they view with their own eyes." Noir continued. "This is their true nature."

Silence befell the group as yusuke took time to absorb what this meant, looking around the distorted world he was in, yusuke spoke out. "This repulsive world? If it were just Chado's or Ritsuka's then I wouldn't have been surprised, but s-sensei's as well?"

_~yeah.~_

"Just… who are all of you!?"

"I guess you could say… we're a group who changes the hearts of rotten crooks." Skull shrugged.

"If what you say is true.. Then… the Sensei i knew of doesn't exist…"

_~uh… dude are you… okay? Do you need a moment?~_

"But… he's kept me safe in the past ten years...my gratitude for that won't just disappear."

"You're gonna forgive them!? At this rate you'll-" Skull yelled out.

"NGH...Ngggggh!" Yusuke crumbled down to one knee, clutching his head as he struggled mentally over what was said.

"Hey, are you ok?" Noir asked, Panther and Shinobi helping the teen up.

"I'm trying to be rational about this, but my emotions are overwhelming me…" he replied, groaning at the massive headache he was getting.

"There's no time for that!" Mona yelled out. "The security level's through the roof! We gotta get out of here NOW!"

"Come on, I'll help you out." Joker said, helping Yusuke up and carried him in the direction of the exit.

* * *

Several minutes of dodging the alarmingly ape-shit guards, the group managed to retreat back to one of the more… disturbing exhibits, revolving around various young Yusukes in various sizes and ages, all naked and posing in ways one shouldn't be posing.

Yusuke projectile vomiting on one of the statues was a rather amusing plus though…

After more sneaking, and avoiding the smoky drugstore of an exhibit, the group finally made it to the last part before the entrance, rooms of several portraits were everywhere… some of them which yusuke immediately recognize.

"Ah, this painting…" Yusuke started, hobbling over to one of them.

"Do you recognize it? We think that they were past pupils or something…" Panther asked.

"But… why are there paintings of them here?"

"Technically, those aren't paintings…" Mona clarified, horrifying the teen with his next words. "They're the pupil's themselves."

_~Madarame saw them as nothing but objects. That's why they're on display here.~_

"Oh… um, we found yours too…"

"W-what…?"

"We'll talk more later. For now let's keep rolling!"

After that awkward scene, the group almost made it to the last room, home free… until several dozen guards appeared out of nowhere.

_~Oh what the fuck!?~_

"NO! We were right there!" Mona roared in anger.

Maniacal laughter flooded the room as several more guards entered,three new figures appeared. The first one was an uglier version of madarame wearing a gold kimono and lipstick, a bulky as hell Chado wearing a speedo (_~WHYYYYYYYYYY!?~_) and a Ristuka in one of the skimpiest looking outfits ever scene.

"The hell are you supposed to be, a shogun?" Akuma sneered at the golden clad shadow.

"**Welcome to the Museum of the master artist Madarame!"** shadow madarame shouts out.

"**And Chao's Temple of Baddassery!"** Chado roared out, flexing heftly at the group.

"**And Ritsuka's Love market!"** Shadow Ristuka purred out in a sultry tone.

"Huh? Sensei? ...is that you?" Yusuke asked out astonished at what he was seeing.

"**Aww. so the Blue Balled Baby finally sees how amazing I am? About damn time."**

"**Oh, my sweet innocent Yusuke. There's so much I want to show you… all my hard work.. My experiences….. My LOVE for you.."**

_~Okay this is even more fucked up than speedoman.~_

"This… this is all one big lie… isn't it?"

"**My usual, ragged attire is nothing but an act. Besides, a master of arts like myself living in that… Shack? I have another home, under a mistress's name of course."**

"**Oooh, Teach, you gotta let me swing by there. I might get some… inspiration." **Shadow Chado cackled.

"Some setup you've got." Joker quipped back, making the old man scowl.

"If the "Sayuri" painting was stolen, then why was it in the storage room, and if that was the real one, why make copies!?" Yusuke practically screamed. "If it's really you, sensei… please tell me!"

"**Aww.. such doubt, such pure uncertainty… it looks just as perfect as your embarrassment." **Shadow Ritsuka said.

"**Foolish child, you still don't see?" **shadow Madarame spoke, shaking his head.** "The painting that was stolen was just a false rumor I spread! It was all a perfectly calculated staging!"**

"W-what!? What do you mean!?" Yusuke yelled back.

"**Let's see. How does this sound…"** Shadow Chado said.** "Does "I found the real painting, but it can't go public. You can have it for a special price though…" ring any bells Blue balls!?"**

"**Hahaha! How's THAT for Preferential treatment!? Art snobs will eat it up, and pay good money for it too!"**

"No…!" Yusuke stammered, voice cracking as the truth echoed through his mind.

"**You're whole world's crashing down on you. Yusuke. You're fear, the shattering hope spilling forth! Ah, I can't take any more, Come to me my beautiful darling! I'll hold you tight and keep you afloat in the sea of your despair!" **Ristuka yelled out, stepping forward to the teen, making everyone step back.

_~you stay the fuck away from him THOT!~_

"**The worth of art is purely subjective… it is nothing more than a business transaction!" **Shadow Madarame states.** "They also eat up charismatic artists like Chado, and even the forbidden pleasures from Ritsuka. There are people of all kinds who'll adore my art, and pay big bills to get it! Though I doubt a brat like you will come up with a brilliant scheme."**

"You keep goin' on and on about money this and money that… no wonder you ended up with this shit show of a museum!" Skull shouts.

"You're supposed to be an artist, right!? Aren't you ashamed about using other people's work!?" Panther added.

"Art is nothing but a tool… a tool to gain fame and fortune!" Shadow madarame cackled maliciously. "You've helped me greatly as well, Yusuke."

"Yusuke, that's your teacher right there. He told you in your face his true intentions" Joker said to the teen.

"B-but what about the people who believe in you… who thinks you're a master Artist!?" Yusuke retorted desperately.

"**I'll tell you this yusuke… if you want to make it in this world as an artist, then i'd advise you don't rise against me. I'll even give you privileges, like your fellow artists!"**

"P-privileges?" Yusuke stuttered.

_~Privileges?~_

"**Yep! All the drugs, booze and chicks i could ask for, and all I have to do is make some fancy smancy doodles!"** Shado Chado continued.

"**While I do like my **_**other**_** clients, you're the only one I want Yusuke…**_** all**_** of you. As long as I provide madarame with a slice of my profits, then he'll give me freedom to do whatever I want with you." **Shadow Ritsuka added.** "You're lucky Madarame respects you enough to prohibit my… passion project."**

"**Do you believe anyone could find success with my objection holding them down!?"**

A low growling was the only thing the Phantom thieves could hear as Yusuke slowly rose to his feet. "To think that i was under the care of such a wretched man…"

"**You think I took you in out of the goodness of my heart? Plucking out promising yet troubled artists allowed me to find promising pupils and take their ideas." **Shadow madarame continued. **"After all, it's much easier to steal the futures of children who can't fight back."**

"I can't believe this…"

"**This chat is starting to bore me, so I'll just let Chado and Ritsuka have their fun with-"**

"ENOUGH!" yusuke roared, startling everyone in the room, even the shadows, who stepped back at the intensity of the voice. "You're unforgivable… all of you are! You hurt me, beat me, humiliate me, insult me… I clouded my view from the truth for so long...and I held hope to you as the man who saved my life… but now… NOW… I won't let you GET AWAY WITH THIS!"

_*have you finally come to your senses?*_ a deep bold voice echoed through yusuke's mind as he held his head in pain, a familiar blue flame sparked around his body. _*how foolishly you have averted your eyes from the truth… a deplorable imitation indeed. Best you part from that aspect of yourself…. Let us now form a contract. I am thou, thou art I… the world is filled with both beauty and vice… it is time you teach people which is which!*_ a sudden flare of azure flames emerged a fox mask in front of him.

_~Aw shit, here we go again!~_

"What is happening!?" all three shadow rulers scream out.

"Very well…" with a single move, with surprising strength coming from the teen, Yusuke rips of the mask as he's encased in a blue inferno. "Come. GOEMON!"

A blinding flash of light and a powerful force knocked back most of the shadows around them, leaving the PTs and the Shadow rulers to gawk at the new appearance. Replacing his original attire, yusuke now wore a black high-collared puff-sleeved jumpsuit with a striped sash worn across his hips, white motorcycle boots and bright blue gloves,with a white fox tail attached to the waist. A giant kabuki like spirit wielding a smoking pipe hovered over him intimidatingly.

"A breathtaking sight…" Yusuke spoke out. "Imitations they may be, but together, they make a fine spectacle… though the flowers of evil blossom, let it be known… abominations are fated to perish!" with a wave of his hand, most of the shadows were wiped out with few being encased in ice.

"Whoa! This is impressive!" Mona shouts out.

"Come on, then, together, we can take them!" Akuma shouts back, causing the rest of the PTs to meet up with the new persona user.

"**Guards! Kill them all NOW!" **Shadow Madarame screeched.

"**Yusuke, even with your icy tone and defiant betrayal, I still love you!"** Shadow ritsuka yelled out, retreating alongside Madarame. Shadow Chado however…

"**HAH!, it's gonna take more than a Yakuza Popsicle to put down Chado FUCKING Chadomaru!" **he shouts, flexing his muscles. **"Come on you Pussies! Kneel before the sexy awesomeness of a GOD!"**

"But what is a god… to a Non believer!" Yusuke quipped back, joining the group as they faced off against the lone palace ruler and guards.

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

"I can't believe it! We're finally going to the big city!" a 17 year old brunette beauty cheered.

"Calm down, Nan." a tall man said, grabbing her shoulder. "We're just here on business right now."

"Yeah." another man, black hair with traces of pale yellow agreed. Plus, we were asked to help settle in to help out her next gig. No polyfoxing until the show's over."

"Aww."

"Aw, don't be like that Nanako!" a blonde fancy attired boy said. "It won't be too long before we could see Kira again!"

"I know Ted, but with dad, Naoto and Kanji helping the police force, Big Bro and the others helping Rise, and Margie and Marie doing god knows what somewhere…"

"Hey Nan?" the bee haired man asked. "Why don't you and Teddie take Rise with you?"

"Huh?"

"What do you mean, Kanji? Doesn't Rise need help with Yu, Yosuke, Chie and Yukiko?"

"Nah, it's fine, you two. We can handle it. "A taller brown haired male said. "Besides Rise's been even more depressed than usual, and since you're going to meet your old friend, maybe her joining you will ease her mind.

"Hmm… true…" Nanako sighed. "Hey Rise, do you wanna-"

"I already heard. I'll come with you." the red haired idol stated.

"Yay!"

"Well, let's get close to the exit, we're almost there." the silver haired male finished. Most of the group heading towards there.

"I'll be right with you! Just a sec!" Nanako said, sighing as she looked over to the side.

"It's gonna be a bit longer, but we'll finally see them again. Aren't you excited?"

**~yes, I am… now shut up and go to your little posse before we're stranded, you idiot!~** an elegant, british female voice said, a pale white skinned female dressed in a gothic dress answered back.

"maybe i could let you and Arata alone for some-"

**~finish that sentence and I'll make you vomit your ovaries out.~**

"Alright, geez, prissy from the ride huh?"

**~you're so lucky there are so many people here right now.~**

"I'm the only one that can see you through…"

**~BITE ME!~**

* * *

**WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!  
**

**Bet you didn't expect THIS huh!?1?**

**Much like last arc, this'll be a multi part set of chapters. Here's hoping that the next chapter will be delivered by Halloween, aka P5R official release!**

**TBC**


	11. Chapter 11: Turn of Events Pt 1 and half

**3 in a goddamn row! I wish i was this motivated with all of my fics! Sadly, the RWBY plotline got a bit depressing after vol.4 and I'm on an off Blazblue and Akame ga kill, but still!**

**(Don't worry, I'm still working on those fics as well… just in a bit of a plot block at the moment.)**

**Part 2 BEGIN!**

* * *

_Several hours later…_

The fight against Chado's shadow was… uncomfortable… to say the least.

It was easy… but uncomfortable nonetheless.

After that surprisingly underwhelming fight, the group finally escaped the palace, and are now reclining at a local diner in shibuya.

"I see…" Yusuke started. "So because of that, this PE teacher had a change of heart… is that correct?"

_~yep.~_

"And for some reason… only those who've seen you in this "metaverse" at least once can see you here?"

_~seems that way, though there is an exception.~_

"Phantom thieves who steal people's hearts… to think they really exists…"

"Is it that hard to believe?" Akira asked.

"No, I believe you… there's no use letting common sense blind me after seeing a world like that." Yusuke replied, shaking his head. "So… your plans with madarame and the others… is to force a change of heart, correct?"

"...yeah."

"... let me join; as a member of the Phantom thieves."

Looks of surprise rose around the table, with both Ryuji and Haru choking on the drinks they previously ordered. Looking at the surprised group, Yusuke continued. "Had I faced reality sooner, this whole thing would've been avoided. I must do this, for the sake of all the artists who's futures were robbed as well. That… is the most civil thing i can do for the man who was… in some manner, my father…"

"Civil, huh…" Ann said solemnly.

"Sounds fine with me. We're gonna deal with Madarame anyways."

"But we need to be careful." Morgana addressed, popping out of Akira's bag. "They might trigger a mental shutdown if we screw up, we have a counter to this, but it's not a fail-safe. Remember what we said on our way here?"

"Madarame is a man who has the artworld under his has connections to many organizations. If someone like me raise my voice, it will only be snubbed out… there is no other option than this."

_~OR, and hear me out...scapegoat.~ _Arata suggested. Gaining a confused look from everyone. _~remember what we did to cover our track for Kamoshida? We got evidence against him, and it messed him up badly. What if we did the same here? Not only with it impact those pricks, but it'll lure away anyone trying to snoop on us.~_

"True, but how do we do that?" Mishima asked.

_~we make something that'll catch him in the act. Here's what I'm thinking, Yusuke, you make a piece of a thing called "Fanart", that Madarame won't know about. The crowd may love it, but Madarame won't be able to bullshit out of this easily.~_

"Ohh, since he won't know what it references, he can't talk much about it like the previous pieces!" Ryuji pieced together.

_~exactly, meanwhile, one of us will sneak over one of Ritsuka's pieces and pose it as Madarame's. Since that's basically Minor porn, that'll land a hefty blow to him.~_

"And since Ritsuka mainly uses me as a reference, the public will think that I was doing this against my will." Yusuke continued.

_~yep! And finally, we leave traces of drugs and alcohol there, which will make the public thinks he's an alcoholic smoker!~_

"But they won't really be bothered by that though…"

_~not unless it's used correctly.~_

"Oooh, I like the way you think!" Ann finished everyone agreeing to this.

_~unfortunately, we might need some help here.. Don't worry though… I have just the thing… buuuut maybe later when there's less… people. Around.~_

"Alright, it's a deal then! Everyone agrees to this?" Morgana said, getting a confirmation as his answer.

"This is awesome! We have a new member of the phantom thieves now!" Ann cheered. "I hope we get along Yusuke."

"I'll do my best…" Yusuke nodded.

"Cool, but no nude paintings." Akira quipped, everyone laughing as the blunette now choked on his drink.

* * *

_Evening_

_Leblanc's_

"Hey, Arata?"

_~Yeah, Kira?~_

"Could I see our stats, please?"

_~sure thing man.~_ with a snap of his fingers, a familiar black screen opened up.

**Akira R. Amamiya-Kurusu**

**Lv. 32**

**Hp: 784**

**Sp: 496**

**Guts (Rnk 5): 5/10**

**Kind (Rnk 4): 2/10**

**Prof (Rnk 4): 8/10**

**Chrm (Rnk 4): 1/10**

**Intl (Rnk 4): 3/10**

**Yen: 4,826,000**

"Uhh…" looking behind him, Akira rubbed his head as he chuckled nervously at the bewildered group.

"Yeah… this is my room." Akira sighed. "It's not much, but it's perfect for someone like me."

"It's … cozy, to say the least." Haru said.

"God this is awkward…" Ryuji mumbled.

"OKAY, Arata, could you bring out your help please?"

_~okay, geez, hang on…~_ snapping twice, Arata conjured up a small portal, sticking his hand in and taking out a red and blue orb. Throwing it to a wall, the orb exploded in a wave of fire and water, surprising the group. The PTs grew even more befuddled when Arata floated over and grabbed two large lumps that appeared from the explosion. Blowing on them, the lumps revealed to be two children hanging loosely by the shirts. The first of the children, a small girl in a simple red and orange shirt and dress, with black shoes. The second, a boy similar to the girl, was wearing a simple set of shirt and shorts of blue shades, with white shoes. _~these two are Charlie and Carlos. But they usually go by Natsu and Yuki.~_

"Hi there, I'm Natsu!" the boy greeted.

"And I'm Yuki!" the girl greeted shortly after, Arata dropping them to the floor, in which they landed safely.

"It's nice to meet all of you- WHOA! Sis Look at kira!" both children looks over to the teen in question.

"Wow! Kira, you got bigger!" Yuki stated, shocking the group when she suddenly lifted him overhead. "And bulkier too!"

"Hey sis, toss him over!"

"Wait wait wai-" Akira half pleaded before being thrown into the deceitfully strong arms of the boy. "Hey, you're right!"

_~c'mon, guys, that's enough playing around for now~_ Arata said, grabbing Akira from them._ ~I have a job for you two.~_

"Lay it on us, Boss!" both children complied.

"Wait, hold up!" Ann said, stopping the trio from continuing. "You're going to send CHILDREN on this mission!?"

_~technically they're both 198 years old. They're what we godlings call Manania.~_

"Manania?" the Pts repeated.

_~they're magic beings made for servitude and infantry, like minions if you will.~_ Arata explained. _~you take powerful souls, with consent of course…, and give them a special homunculus body build for them to inhabit, then form a service seal called a geis on their physical bodies to connect them to you.~_

"And… these homunculi?" Shiho trailed off.

"They're twins who helped us… a long time ago." Akira stated, gaining everyone's attention. "But they… died."

"DIED!?" Mishima, Haru, and Morgana shouts out.

"We were victims in a sudden assault robbery in Inaba. My ex girlfriend and I were taking them on a trip when…"

_~Kira, you don't have to tell them if you-re uncomfortable.~_

"Yeah, Kira… it's okay.." Natsu said, noticeably less energetic than before.

"We're okay."

"But if I did something sooner… you two wouldn't have been shot, I could've avoided digging a deeper hole… and Rise wouldn't have betrayed me…" Akira countered, mumbling that last part into a whisper…

_~Kira…~ _Arata said._ ~... Let's call it in for the evening. This sudden change in mood is starting to get taxing.~_

"Uh… yeah.." Morgana said. "Let's get some sleep everyone."

_~Yuki, you take yusuke and help him find some good anime and manga he could get for research. Natsu, you're with me and morgana tomorrow.~_

"Yes boss!" both twins stated.

"Alright, see ya man." Ryuji said, turning to leave. "Oh, and Akira…"

"Hmm?"

"We won't judge you at all, so if you wanna talk, just say so." and with that, everyone except Arata, Morgana, and the twins left the room, each giving encouraging words to the downtrodden teen.

_~Okay, tomorrow's the start of our new plan.~_

"Yeah…here's hoping that things won't get hectic soon." Akira said, dazing into slumber.

* * *

**I DELIVERED!?**

**Behold: the **_**shortest**_** chapter i've posted of this fic yet!**

**Anyways, happy Halloween everyone!**

**TBC**


	12. Chapter 12: turn of events Pt 2

**Been a while huh!?**

* * *

Thursday 19th

Mid-day

Shibuya

"Okay, is everything in place?" Akira asked, the whole group meeting at a bridge connected to the train station.

_~let's check… Yusuke painting?~_

"Check!" Morgana nodded, Natsu holding a covered canvas labeled poorly with the word BLANK.

_~evidence of the crimes?~_

"Check," Ryuji replied, he, Haru and Shiho pulling out their phones, each having various pictures of the three incriminating artists caught in the act. Nice camouflage by the way Haru!"

"Thank you," she replied. I studied a bit of psychic power and found out about illusions beforehand."

"I'm surprised none of you got caught," Ann said.

"They were… really into their work to notice.." Shiho murmured, shivering slightly.

_~ok all that leaves is the Fana- where's Yusuke?~_

Taking a look over and mental roll call, Akira was surprised to find the sticky blunette not with the group. before any of them could speak up, however, Yusuke managed to reach the group, Yuki skipping behind him.

"Where were you two?" Mishima asked.

"Apologies for the tardiness, we were a bit delayed on the way here." was Yusuke's answer. "I have managed to get a suitable amount of material for this "Fan-art" though, with the help of Yuki of course."

_~perfect. How long until the arrest takes place?~_

"About two to three weeks from now, when the exhibit ends."

_~and how long will it take for you to make the piece?~_

"Given that I require about a day or two to read the material, I'd say… a week and a half."

"Geez, what kind of material did you buy?" Ryuji said, taking a peek into Yuki's bag. The blonde went concerningly silent for a minute or two before he bursts out laughing hysterically.

"W-what the!?" Ann shouts out. "Don't cackle like that in public!"

"HOLY SHIT!" Ryuji yelled, taking a breath. "Of all the possible choices, you picked THAT one!? This is too perfect!"

_~what, what is it!?~_

"Ah! It's a rather breathtaking tale. Two angels, fallen and lost their way, must take arms against the evils of the society they're in, with the aid of a priest and valuable sidekicks."

"... did one of the angels look like a goth and the other a blonde?" Akira asked, unsure as to what the answer was.

"As a matter of fact, yes, one does look gothic. And the other angel is blonde."

_~and do they use swords? Guns?~_

"Yes, rather off-putting weapons, but they do wield them with grace an-" Yusuke couldn't even finish as, surprising the whole group, both Akira and Arata join in with Ryuji in a laughing fit.

"Hey!" Shiho shouts out, trying to get the trio to calm down.

_~he chose that one… HE CHOSE THAT ONE!~_ Arata yells out.

"Let's get somewhere that's a bit more… private." Haru said, noticing the scene that the group was gradually making. Grabbing Ryuji and Akira, the group left the area, a laughing godling trailing behind them. Unaware of the gaze of two very intrigued individuals.

* * *

Later on, the group managed to make it to the shopping district, the trio of laughers, finally calming down, apologizing to Yusuke in the process.

_~seriously though, you picked Panty and Stocking of all things!?~_

"WHAT!?" all the girls beside Yuki yelled in unison.

"Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt; it's an anime that recently got a manga version." Akira clarified.

" The whole show's a censorship nightmare!" Ryuji continued "there's implied sex, tons of violence, and a shit ton of swearing in it."

_~and the best part is that it looks so cartoony that you would have mistaken it for a girl's kid show at first glance.~_

"Why is that a thing!? And how do you two know it!?"

"We had a friend back in Inaba who used to watch it a long time ago. Babysitting stuff."

"Anyways, let's change the subject, I'm getting uncomfortable hearing this," Shiho said, while the group bicker about, Ryuji wandered off to a small crowd not too far ahead.

_~uh, guys, Ryu ghosted on us.~_

"Huh? Ryuji- where'd he go now!?" Ann groaned, looking around for the bumblebee.

"Found him!" Morgana said from Akira's bag, pointing his paw at the male in question waving them over. Curious, the party meets with him behind the small crowd. As they get closer, they hear a stunningly beautiful melody of strings grow louder, somehow both soothing and invigorating them.

"Hey, guys." Ryuji simply said. "Can you guys back me up?"

_~oh god… what are you gonna do now?~_

"You'll see." just as he said this, the song ends and the crowd cheer and clap. Just when it died down, Ryuji took a deep breath, ready to yell.

"Oh no, don't embarrass-" Ann said halfway before going wide-eyed at what Ryuji said next.

"You're note's are a bit off, SHITTYGAMI!" Ryuji yelled out, causing major silence from both the group and the crowd. Everyone in the crowd looked at him either in surprise, or offended indignation.

"How dare you say that!?"

"Who the hell do you think you are!?"

"The hell'd you just say, punk!?"

In a rising uproar of rage at the blonde's actions, the crowd looked ready to tear him a new one...

"Silence!" an elegant, accented voice spoke, making everyone do as commanded "There is only one person who has called me any form of slander…." the crowd disperses partway, revealing a teenage girl, not much older than the rest of the group, with Crimson hair wrapped in a braid, a simple Qipao dress and dark crimson leggings with black slippers. Her silver eyes bore through the cleared path to Ryuji. Resting a black viola on her shoulders like a baseball bat, she sauntered over right in front of Ryuji. "...Bakamoto…"

"Shittygami," Ryuji said back straight-faced.

Both looked at each other, neither backing out of the intense stare, before one snickered, then started laughing lightheartedly.

"It's been too long, Ryuji. For a second I thought you were someone else." the girl said.

"C'mon Tatsumaki, it'll take more than some hair dye to change this guy!"

"Still as headstrong and vulgar as before."

_~the fuck's happening!?~_ Arata whispered loudly to the others, only getting shrugs in response.

"Oh, right! Guys, this is Tatsumaki Shishigami. Tatsumaki, these are my friends."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all."

"Um… nice to meet you too?" Ann replied weakly. "Sorry, I'm a bit lost; who… are you exactly?"

"N-not to be offensive or anything!" Shiho quickly added.

"It's quite alright, most people refer to me as my stage name. Have you heard of Shinku Tsukiyomi?" at that, most of the group put two and two together.

"You're Tsukiyomi!? No way! I LOVE your work!"

"Yes, yes, thank you. There's no need for that."

"Wait, I'm still confused," Akira said.

"That makes two of us," Mishima added, not noticing the girl in question staring at him.

"Wait…" Ann said. "How does Ryuji know you personally?"

"Tatsu and I were bandmates back in grade school," Ryuji answered proudly. "We were the best in our class, so good that we had our own strings section."

_~you can play?~_

"You can play? Everyone asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I'm a bit out of practice, but I can still play."

"We were both adequately talented in stringed instruments. I personally excelled in the more elegant series, such as viola and harps." Tatsumaki clarified. "Ryuji was more on the bass and classical strings… especially the banjo."

"Why a banjo?" Haru asked.

"Please do-"

"Because I Can-jo!" Ryuji smirked stupidly, causing a few Snickers from the crowd…. Oh right.

"Let's talk at a place that's a bit less… crowded. I'd rather rest for that collaboration concert than to drain myself here any longer."

* * *

Meanwhile…

"Sojiro, I think I have a lead on how those cards were nostalgic," Kawakami said, taking out a folder, Tae, Schala, and Serge chuckling at the two's interaction.

"Sadayo, you are testing my patience right now; I have work to do! At least wait until after hours to-" before Sojiro could continue, the ringing of the doorbells echoed through the cafe, a group of people following in.

"Is this… Cafe Leblanc'?" one of them said.

"I think so…" another replied.

"Welcome to Cafe Leblanc', how may I help you?"

"Told you this was the place." as the group talked more and more, Schala and Serge went from amused to stoic, and slowly their expressions turned more vexed at the sight of the rather familiar group.

"Oh, it's you lot." Schala hissed lowly, Serge growled under his breath as well.

"OH! Um… hi, Mr. Amamiya, Mrs. Kurusu…." one of the females said, awkwardly greeting the irate couple, suddenly, a lone girl of the group zipped passed, and hugged both. This seemed to please both parents for a moment.

"Nanako! It's so glad to see you, darling!" Schala greeted.

"Hi, miss Schala! Mr. Sergey!" the brunette replied cheerfully.

"Uh, you lot know each other?" Sojiro asked confused.

"They're a group of teenagers from back in Inaba. Heartless, lethal, and complete heartbreakers all of them." Schala droned out monotonously, the group flinching at every word. "All except for this little cutie right here~!" she finished cheerfully, pinching Nanako's cheek.

"Miss Schala! I'm 17!"

"And you're still as innocent as an angel, dear!"

"***cough*** so, what brings you here?" Kawakami said, trying to get the ball rolling again.

"We're here for a collaboration show with a popular strings musician."

"Oh, that's wonderful Teddie!"

"We all got invited to come, and well, we were hoping to see if we could meet Akira in the process…" Nanako stopped, turning beet red at what she just said. "I-I mean-"

"Oh don't worry Nanako. We've told you already, you have our blessing."

"I-wha-a-I-I-" she stuttered more, falling down a spiral of embarrassment.

"Um… Mrs. Kurusu-" the silver-haired man started.

"What do _you_ want." like a full-on switch, Schala's mood did a complete 180 as she looked on to the group.

"About… that time, years ago-"

"You're still not off the hook, Narukami." Schala said lowly, making the man flinch. "None of you are, Especially you Rise."

"But-"

"But nothing! You not only broke my baby boy's heart, but you betrayed him the second you thought something was wrong! And now what, you wanted to apologize now that he was proven innocent!?"

"Wait, what?" Sojiro asked, but was cut off by the look Serge was giving him, which screamed: "drop the subject". Sojiro silently complies.

"Umm…" Kawakami voiced out, scooting towards the door. "So… I see you have some… issues that you need to talk about, so… I'll get out of your hair… we'll talk later Sojiro!"

"Bye!" and with that, Kawakami exited the shop, closing the door the very second the sound of shouting began once more.

"What did she mean by that?" Kawakami wondered aloud.

* * *

"Okay, see you at the concert later!" Ryuji shouted out, the group and Tatsumaki going their separate ways.

"I'd be insulted if you didn't Bakamoto!"

"Later!" and with that, the group left the area.

"Hey, when's the concert?" Yuki asked.

"She said it ends on the 3rd of march."

"that's the day after the gallery ends," Yusuke adds in.

_~That's way more time than needed, but we should finish this soon.~_

"Right. Let's prepare for our heist everyone."

_~got it. Thanks for your help, you two.~_ Arata said, nodding at the two Manania.

"No problem, Arata!" Natsu nodded back.

"We'll leave the rest to you!" Yuki added, both manania slowly phasing away into little glowing orbs, both merging into Arata's being.

"...Are they… going to be alright?" Ann asked, a bit worried.

_~oh no, they're fine, that's just what happens when manania are called back to their owners.~_

"Ah, okay."

"Okay, so we post the calling card tomorrow! Everyone, get prepared by then." Morgana announced.

"Right!" everyone agreed simultaneously.

* * *

Evening

Leblanc's

Sighing as the trio went up to their room, Akira, Morgana, and Arata laid down on the bed in the attic/room, looking onto Akira's phone.

**RenRen**: So, who's gonna do the calling card?

**Ryu**: I call dibs!

**Ann**: I don't know…

**Floof**: what's the problem, he did well the first time.

**Ryu**: Yeah!

**Ann**: that's only because Ms. Kawakami helped him out.

**Yuuki**: now that I think about it… where is Ms. Kawakami? We haven't talked to her outside of school in a long while…

**RenRen**: I heard she's currently talking with some old friends of hers.

**Shiho**: where did you hear that?

**RenRen**: Arata

**Yusuke:** hello? Is this the right group chat?

**RenRen**: hey Yusuke. Welcome to the chat.

**Yusuke**: ah, thank goodness. I rarely use my phone since Ristuka usually steals it..

**Ryu**: hmm… well if I can't do it, then maybe Yusuke can?

**Yusuke**: I can do what?

**Floof**: we're deciding on who should make the calling card.

**Yusuke**: then I can't be the one to do it; they'll recognize my handwriting immediately.

**Ryu**: then I'll make the message, and you make it look cool!

**Yuuki**: that's something we can all agree with!

Taking a moment to laugh out some levity from the joke, Akira continued typing.

**Ryu**: sidetracking a bit… Arata? Akira?

**RenRen**: what?

**Ryu**: there's… something going on here…

**Ann**: what is it?

**Ryu**: so… you know my persona, Captain Kidd, right?

**Floof**: yes… go on…

**Ryu**: he's… currently raiding my mini-fridge in front of me… is that normal?

**RenRen**: the raiding part of the persona part?

**Ryu**: the persona thing…

**RenRen**: Nah, Arsene and Zorro are here with us too.

**Ann**: OH THANK GOD! I thought I was hallucinating!

**Shiho**: good to know…

**Yuuki**: nice to know I'm not the only one.

**Floof**: what's going on?

**Yusuke**: yes, is there something wrobvsifuhf

**RenRen**: Yusuke?

**Yusuke**: … it appears that Goemon is sitting right next to me…

**Floof**: wait I'm still confused…

**RenRen**: we can see and interact with our persona in this world… though only in places we deem are "safe". Arata called them Domains.

**Floof**: aw…

**Ryu**: don't worry Haru, you'll get a persona in due time! In the meantime, you're strong on your own!

**Yuuki**: wasn't there that one time you made a snobby girl at our school grope one of the nerdy students yesterday?

**Shiho**: I'm sorry… WHAT?

**Floof**: MOVING ON!

**Ryu**: So I make the message, and Yusuke will make it awesome!

**RenRen**: Arata and Morgana are ready to leave and put everything into place.

**Yusuke**: very well, be sure to send it over.

**Ann**: alright, here's hoping we finish this!

Lowering his phone, Akira sighed "Alright, you two are sure you don't need my help?"

_~yeah, no we got this. You need your rest though… a lot of rest if we're to fight all three of them.~_ Arata shuddered.

"Yeah, Go to sleep, Akira. We've got this."

_**~If it is of any consolation, master…~ **_Arsene spoke up, rising from his spot he was in previously. _**~since you are linked to Arata, it technically makes him my master as well. If you wish, I shall accompany him for aid.~**_

"Sure thing. Thanks Arsene."

_**~But of course.~ **_

Nodding in contempt at this, Akira closed his eyes and fell into slumber. As he pulled fully to sleep, the godling, cat, and persona nodded, grabbing the pieces of the plan and slinking out the window into the darkness… but before they could get far…

**~leaving without a goodnight kiss, beloved?~ **a familiar elegant voice spoke out, causing Arata to whip his head around, catching a glorious sight. There in front of them floated a girl who looks close to Arata's age, silver and pink hair tied to twin buns contrasted the dark reds and purples of her gothic lolita like attire. Her pink and purple eyes met his silver as the male godling smiles widely.

_~how could I forget such an important thing like that?~_ Arata quipped, zipping to her and pecking her on the lips. _~how long have you been here?~_

**~just recently, Nanako and I have managed to find a place near here.~ **

_~aww. Nan's here too? Sweet! now our chosen are back as a pair Molly.~_ Arata cheered, pecking once more to the now named Molly's cheek.

**~there's just one problem…~**

_~uh oh…~_

**~unfortunately, we had to take the whole group with her for "security reasons" or whatever.~ **Molly hissed out, air quoting uncaringly. **~Teddie's here, but the investigation flunkies are as well. I would advise against meeting them right now.~**

_~duly noted.~_

"Hey… who's this lady?" Morgana said, deciding to intervene. "And will this take long? We're burning moonlight!"

_~Ah, right. Morgana, Arsene, this is Molly Phantomhive, the Godling of Souls!~_

**~and this chaos monkey's lovely fiance.~**

"Ah… I see." Morgana simply said, nodding slowly.

...

"FIANCE!?"

* * *

Friday 18th

Mid-day

Shibuya

Down at the Art exhibit…

"Uh, Mr. Madarame, sir… a word please?" one of the artist's employees waved over the old plagiarizer. "There's something urgent you need to discuss…"

"What is it? I'm busy.." Madarame asked, waving off the press and excusing himself for the moment.

"Well, sir… we found this outside." the employee handed out a familiar red and black card a rather intimidating logo glistening on one side.

" a letter?"

"It's… uh…" taking the card, Madarame read out the contents.

_"Ichiryusai Madarame, Chado Chadomaru, and Ritsuka Kagutsuki, great sinners of Vanitywho're talents have been exhausted and misused. You have used your authority to shamelessly steal the ideas of your pupils, augmented this debauchery through drugs and alcohol implements, and exploited the innocence of your pupils in various have decided to make you confess your crimes with your own mouths. We will take your distorted desires without fail. From the Phantom thieves."_ Madarame spoke… and erupted in anger. "Who the hell wrote this garbage!?"

"There are also notes and messages next to said messages, they all saying "the furthest corner of the darkness of new" with a bunch of arrows on a map to the back of the exhibit."

"Chado! Ritsuka, come over here!" curiously concerned as to why the old man was calling them so urgently, the two arrived next to him.

"What's the deal, old man? Something wrong?" Chado asked confused out of his mind.

"Of course something's wrong! Do you know who wrote this!?"

"Hell No, I've been… scoping out… some inspiration for my next piece."

"And I've been up all night working on my newest portrait draft for a wedding piece," Ritsuka added in, equally confused.

"Then whose doing is this!?"

"We don't know! The same letter and messages were posted everywhere!"

Before they could talk any further, Madarame noticed out of the corner of his eye, more and more people leaving the place in a fit of disturbance and disgust.

"To think he would secretly be into that sort of thing." one passerby said.

"Those pieces smelled of booze and smokes!"

"That painting seemed too naughty to be a simply nude painting…"

"And that big piece? I swear I've seen that somewhere before… it reminds me of something."

Frantic at the leaving fans, all three artists, the employee, and Yusuke paired with Arata all closed in at the back of the scene, where many people were walking away from more disgusted than intrigued.

Then they saw it. Three pieces in the very back of the exhibit titled "The Sins in Plain Sight" one was a complete piece of Yusuke, looking away with his legs spread, a bouquet of roses being the only cover for the naked figure's crotch area, the second was an abstract warzone: many erratic and brutish shades of red, black and browns clashing with greens and purples, giving off a nightmarish haunting aura, which also reeked of the smell of alcohol and smoke ashes. The biggest of the trio stood a massive mini mural, two angelic females, wielding undergarments turned weapons against two demonic females, a priest, a human, and a cackling devil covered the rest of the piece.

"What." Chado started

"THE," Ritsuka added

"HELL IS THIS!?" Madarame shouted out in rage.

"Oh, my poor Yusuke! Why are you here!? I left you high above my bed last night!" Ristuka jabbered on, weeping comically at the piece, which subtly made Yusuke scooch a bit further away from them.

"Why the hell is my "War and Chaos" piece here!? It was a surprise commission- that's where my shit went!?"

"What on earth is going ON!? I-I can't take credit for this! Someone set this up to spite me!"

"S-Sensei!? What's going on?" Yusuke asked, pretending he wasn't there before. "W-what? Why is-"

"Yusuke, my darling, don't look at this sinful slander they've done to you!"

"WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON THE ASSHATS WHO DID THIS-"

"Calm down you two!" Madarame silenced the other artists. "It's fine Yusuke. Some art haters probably put these up to damage our reputation."

"U-um, sir…"

"What about the security cameras?"

"There was no sign of the culprit! All we saw was a cat in the recordings!"

"GRRAAGH!"

"U-uh… sir?"

"What now!?"

"A-about these…"

"Are you insinuating that this slander is true!?"

"N-no, sir!"

"I've heard enough, Remove these at once!" Madarame ordered. "And take these pieces away!"

"Right away sir!"

The world fizzles to darkness, leaving Yusuke and Arata to see the three shadow criminals seething in rage.

"**Those little punks want a war, huh!? Then they've got one!**" shadow Chado roars.

"**Yusuke, you're about to be taken away from me… if that will happen, then i'll just grab one last thing… that i'll treasure forever and ever…**" Shadow Ristuka cried out.

"**It's those damn brats' doing, isn't it!?**" Shadow Madarame growled. "**This means nothing, they'll only be able to get away with this until the exhibit's over.**"

The world returning to normal, Yusuke walks away silently to the rest of the group, who were hiding by the entrance.

"Will that suffice?" Yusuke asked.

"Perfect!" Morgana said.

_~let's roll!~_

* * *

Shit hit the fan… AGAIN.

As soon as they reappeared in the palace, they were almost jumped by 20 guards at once. After narrowly avoiding them all, the phantom thieves made it to their latest checkpoint, which just so happens to be near the treasure.

Managing a successful capture of the treasures, with teamwork and stealth, they managed to snag them without alerting the three shadow rulers standing in front of the pedestals of the treasures.

Then the alarms went off.

Running out the window into the high rooftop of the museum, the group safely navigated the criss-cross puzzle of a building and arrive back at the garden halfway point. Looking at the goods they grabbed, the team is surprised to find that they were all fakes, Yusuke, named Fox by the group earlier, noticing at the last second the security gates reactivating saved the group from getting shocked, but now the team faces the three rulers and several guards, each holding a different treasure.

**"Looking for these, Blueballs!?"** Shado Chado mocked, each guard showing the exact treasures: a pure gold ring with diamonds embedded in it, an actual human child version of Yusuke, and a shockingly familiar painting, with a major change to it.

**"Oh, Yusuke~ It's been SO lonely without you, and I might be taken away soon, I just wanted to say one thing…"** Shadow Ritsuka mumbled.

"Oh, and what would that be?"

**"I want your innocence!"** she screamed. **"I Love You, I loved you the moment I laid eyes on you all those years ago! If I don't do this now, then I'll never be able to do it; come with me! Yusuke, I'll give you my innocence as well!"**

"...The hell does she mean?" Skull asked

_~... oh. OOOOH! You're sick lady!~_

"What!? What is it!?"

_~she wants his V-card!~_

…

…

"EEEW!" Noir gagged lightly.

"You're sick you know that!?"

"You're 21 years old! It wouldn't have worked even if I did like you romantically!" Fox whined incredulously, causing the rest of the group to look back and forth between the two...

_~ 21 Ye- YOU'RE A THOT AND A PEDOPHILE!?~_

"Your sick bitch!" Skull shouts out.

**"ENOUGH!"** Shadow Madarame shouts.

"What made you change like this!? Is it because you became famous?" Fox demanded. "Can't you understand how much it pains me to inquire about the crimes of my foster father!?"

**"Now that I think back… the only reason why I took you in… was because of your mother…"** Madarame started. **"That woman never lost her passion for painting, even after her husband died, Her skills and talents were quite astonishing, so I took her in. your mother and her creations- They're all MY works of art!"**

"How low can you sink, old man!?" Panther said.

**"I suppose I can give you the last gift before death; a glimpse of the REAL ''Sayuri"! Enjoy your last look!"** with a snap of his fingers, the guard holding the treasure raised it in the air, revealing-

***Thonk!***

A painting that was snagged, yes SNAGGED by what appeared to be a giant…

"Was that a… Giant Boomerang!?" Akuma exclaimed in surprise, everyone present just as much so.

"So THIS is the so-called "Sayuri" that I've been hearing nonstop about?" a new voice shouts out alarming everyone. Two, in particular, found the voice oddly familiar.

**~I would Seem So, Milady.~**

"Well then, I do believe you lost your leverage old-timer. You there! The one in black!" the voice said, revealing two cloaked figures, one of them floating, holding both the frighteningly large boomerang and the Treasure… who then proceeded to toss said Treasure to Joker, which he easily catches.

**"WHAT!?"**

"Sayuri… Mom!" Fox shouts, gazing into the painting in disheartening sadness.

**~You have gone too long with this charade of power, mongrels.~ **the floating figure snapped her fingers, the other two guards roaring in pain as black lightning surges through them.** ~we'll be taking that also. ~** with another snap, the two guards throw the other treasures up into the air. With a strong swing, the gigantic boomerang took flight once more, snagging the two items like the painting.

**~that woman knew she would sooner or later die off, so she made one last portrait for her son to leave behind; for him and him alone. You sir, who served as her murderer, are unworthy to wield such a prized painting.~**

_~WHAT!?~_

"He stole something THAT personal!?" Skull shouts out.

"... he… what?" Fox said simply

"Not only that, but that bulky guy is even worse… he..he-"

**~committed necrophilia.~**

"Oh god, I'm gonna throw up," Akuma shouted, nearly letting loose the growing bile in his throat

"And you, girl! You cremated her and kept the ashes to yourself!"

"Oh come on! Why would anyone do that!?" Panther shouts as well, pointing at Ritsuka.

**"Why the hell did you say our shit out loud!?**" Chado roared. **"And How the hell did you know about that at all!?"**

**~your souls are so easy to read, it's more of an insult at this point. You lot really should stop wearing your sins on your sleeves.~**

"Sensei… what did she mean… when she said, murderer…" Fox stated. "I've heard that you destroy your "art" when they outgrow their usefulness… did that include my mother as well..?"

"**..."**

"ANSWER ME, MADARAME!"

**"She just so happened to have a seizure in front of me… that was when a thought crossed my mind."** Madarame smirked. **" If I just leave her be, and not call for help, then I get to have her work without any strings attached. It just so happened that my apprentices took a rather fond liking to her as well…"**

"No… You let her die!?" Noir asked in surprise.

**"She was physically weak, so no one would doubt it if she dropped dead by a mere seizure. Didn't you find it odd, Yusuke, that I discovered your talents by the age of three?"**

_~so you're finally spilling the truth…~_

**"We only kept you around was so that you could never find out the truth behind the Sayuri painting!''** Chado laughed cockily.

"You killed her… disgraced her…. Desecrated her…" a white mist began to form from Fox's feet, slowly rising up around him, black frost and icicles began crystallization around the seething Thief. This doesn't go unnoticed by Reaper, who looks more worried at Fox than mad at the shadow rulers.

_~uh… Fox… ~_

**"The artistic talents you inherited from your mother were a delightful miscalculation, though… it's much easier to steal ideas from brats who won't talk back to adults."** the black ice grew gradually more rigid, some icicles floating upwards and orbiting around Fox the more Madarame talked.

_~Fox…~_

**"It's thanks to you that I came up with the idea, You have my gratitude."**

Hands clenched around his sword, Fox was about ready to lunge at the man, but before he could do that-

_~Utopia!~_

A sudden feeling of ease came over him, a soothing chime of bells echoed through his ears as his tension lessens greatly.

_~oh thank god, i thought I was too late.~_

"Too late for what?" Joker asked.

"Hmm…" Yusuke chuckled, then chuckles turned into laughter. Releasing the hand holding the sword, he looked on at the three shadow rulers.

"Yusuke?" Shinobi asked, concerned at the sudden shift the male in question just had.

"I thank you, Madarame… Chado… Ritsuka…" Fox started. "every reason to forgive you has disappeared without a trace at this very moment! You aren't some rotten artists… you all are less than that! I will end you, right here! RIGHT NOW!" Raising his hand, ice formed nigh instantaneously around him, orbiting at rapid speeds. "I will take back what's mine, even if it means going through YOU!" with a wave of his hand, the Icicles morphed into ice swords and like an arrow shot from a bow, they each impaled all the guards, the rulers only being knocked back by the barrage.

"**So you have chosen to defy me!? SO BE IT!"** Shadow madame shouts out, all three shadow rulers became engulfed in darkness. **"I'll make you regret ever leaving your mother's womb!"**

* * *

**This took a while, but this time I have a decent excuse!**

**I'm waiting for P5R and P5S to come to English.**

**There I said it.**

**TBH.**


	13. quick note

**A quick note before the next chapter:**

**I plan on doing two major things regarding this fic!**

**First off, a name change for the fic: are there ANY alternatives to P5R+? if so, then post it in reviews!**

**Second, I plan on making a webcomic version of the fic, it will take time, and will most likely draw this back a bit more, but in the long run, I will manage somehow. so look forward to it.**

**See you next chapter!**


	14. filler trash 1

**Just some shit for you all to read about whilst I work on the next chapter.**

**WARNING: there is an M-rated scene in this chapter! If you don't wanna read that, then just skip it! **

**Now, let's begin!**

* * *

Morgana's problem

On a simple night after the downfall of Kamoshida, Akira, Arata and Morgana finally arrived back in their makeshift room for the night. The three thoroughly winded, they merely plopped down onto the mattress in front of them, practically ignoring the three persona phasing into existence within the room.

"Mrooow!"

Suddenly, jolting up in fright, Morgana unintentionally fell off the bed, a loud drawn out meowing echoing out the window.

"MOOOW!"

"Meow! MEEOOOEW!"

"MEW! MEW NYA!"

"Oh god, they found me!" Morgana moaned disdainfully.

"Are those… cat noises?" Akira asked, annoyed by the amount of loud noises ringing in his ears. Floating over to the window, Arata looked out into the moonlit alleyway.

_~... Where the hell did all these cats come from!?~_ Arata yelled. Truth be told, around 20 cats of various colors and sizes looked up at the window, all making a chorus of noise.

"DON'T TELL THEM I'M HERE!"

_~what the hell are you even-~_

"Morgana…" Akira asked, interrupting the godling. "C-Can you understand them?"

"Yeah…." the cat mumbled.

_~what are they saying anyways!?~_

"..." looking out the window, Morgana visibly flinched when he heard the voices yelling at him.

"_DARLING!"_

"_We know you're up there, my black stud!"_

"_I want your BABIES!"_

"_I want them MORE!"_

"_These bitches don't deserve you my luscious Onyx! Come hither and I shall provide you the love of a queen!"_

"_forget these whores, I'm the only one you need!"_

"_I cannot control this carnal desire to pin you down, line you up and FU-"_

"... You don't wanna know…" was all Morgana said.

* * *

Haru's Hypnosis

Deep down inside Haru's mind, she feels a tiny twinge of guilt for what is happening in front of her… but that's suppressed by the severe relief of it all.

To be fair, these men **did** try to have their way with her.

On her way back to the limo to her home, she encountered these five men, who just wouldn't leave her alone, even when she expressed her disinterest. She tried threatening to call the police, outpacing the lot, and even crossing the street several times, which still had running traffic around. But even that didn't deter any of them, finding herself to be flanked by all five, they smirked before nodding all at once, all jumping at the same time.

To most girls, this would be extremely effective, since despite them maybe fighting off one of them, all five at the same time would prove enough to overwhelm them.

Too bad they weren't dealing with the average girl.

Sudden panic rushed through her mind, and in a frightened scream, she closed her eyes and yelled.

"STOP!" a sudden pink waved washed through her and everyone within a 20 foot radius. Everyone, five men, pedestrians, even the animals around her, stopped what they were doing, as if time slowed to a complete stop. Opening her eyes, she looked on at her accidental work gasping lightly when she saw that all five men had pink, glossed over eyes, all slumping down slightly, as if they were in a deep trance.

"Huh? Did i-" Haru asked, raising up to full height a bit... too hasty.

***crick***

"Agh!" Haru hissed in pain, a sudden crack of her back jolted her. Not knowing what to do about this, she opted to walk home, not noticing most of the inhabitants going back to normal, nor the five men still following her, though less like molesters, and more like stray puppies.

As she made it to her home, Haru nearly had a heart attack when she found all five still behind her, still heavily entranced. Attempting to hit one of them, she winced in pain when the crick in her back acted up once more.

"This is a nightmare… My legs and feet are sore… my back hurts, and i don't even know why you all are… here?" Haru stopped her mumbling when she found herself sitting on something, and two pairs of hands were thoroughly massaging her aching back and feet, the last two still stood on standby beside her. Looking down at her "seat", she nearly jumped when she found the third of the men kneeling on all fours as if he was a stool.

Looking back to the two vacant males, Haru thought for a second before pointing at one of them.

"You, prepare me a drink, and you! Draw me a bath!" she said, immediately after she said this, the two males walked off to the kitchen and bathroom respectfully. The sound of running water filled her ears seconds later. This left Haru thinking a bit more, remembering a bit of research she did earlier regarding her powers. Suddenly it all clicked into place.

"OH, this is hypnosis! … hypnosis? How do I turn it off again? Something about a keyword…" she racked her brain for the information she studied about. But then… she thought about what happened a few minutes prior.

On one hand, she should feel guilty; she's essentially forcing these men to do these things right now…

On the other hand…

"Well… Arata did say I should practice more…" Haru shrugged, resigning to the dual massage as the fourth male brought her the requested drink. "And besides, I can snap them out of it later…" she said gleefully.

* * *

Rockin' Ryuji

"Ryuji?" a short, slender ravenette said aloud, bearing similar resemblance to the blonde boy. "Ryuji, come down, I have dinner ready!"

"Coming mom!" she heard Ryuji shout from his room, footsteps echoing seconds later a large case lugging behind him.

"Oh, what's that?" she asked.

"This old thing? I figured I'd get back into music for a bit, so I dug this out- GAAGH!"

"Oh, my baby boy's rekindling some old flames from the past! How delightful!"

"Mom! I can't breathe!", Ryuji gasped, struggling from the sudden glomp (death grip)

"Oh, sorry!"

"No problem, I'm just worried that I'm too rusty…" Ryuji says, taking out the stringed instrument held within, a black guitar with blue lightning drawn on the sides. Strumming a few cords a bit, Ryuji let loose on the instrument, a rather energetic tune rang out through the house as he played Classical Gas on his guitar.

After several minutes of this, he slowed the pace to a complete stop, setting the guitar back in its case.

"Oh, Ryuji, that was beautiful!" His mother cried happily, hugging her son once more.

"Heh, yeah thanks, Mom. guess i worried for nothing." Ryuji laughed as the two of them headed to the kitchen to eat.

Ryuji looked back once more at his guitar, which had a label at the side of it. Before looking forward, his mother noticed the label reading "Electric Guitar" magnetically attaching itself to Ryuji's open palm.

* * *

Personal Problems pt. 1

(WARNING M scene ahead!)

Halfway through the second palace, or rather the "Amalgamuseum", as dubbed by Arata, Akira has gather quite a few persona during his advancement. Some of which are the following…

Hua Po, Ame no Uzume, Regent, High Pixie and even a rare Alraune hidden in the corners…

While most of them were happy to be used in the frontlines, in the end most of them were used to boost Arsene and a few other persona. This left him with a relatively short team of Arsene, Alraune, Ame no Uzume and a rare Persona he found along the way named Ixtab.

Things got… intense to say the least when she joined… long story short, the whole group spent half the time during one of the exploration missions trying to keep the lady from hanging both Akira and Arata in nooses. After a while, he finally got Ixtab to calm down her strangulation shtick. Dealing with the (apparently) goddess of suicide left the two of them wary of the persona…

But that's not the current problem Akira's facing at this moment… he's fine with Ixtab now, Uzume and the others are getting along nicely as well… no the problem isn't with them… technically.

The huge throbbing sensation and the embarrassingly high tent pitch on his bed however…

_~i'm not rubbing it out, Akira.~_

"Arata!"

_~You do it! I ain't wanking that thing out! Not after last time!~_

"We're technically the same person! Why don't you rub one out yourself to relieve mine!?"

_~because something's influencing your physical body in a way that's interfering with my physical link!~_

"HUH!?"

_~this happened twice, remember? One where Nan and Molly crashed into us during that emotion breach and that other time where we were being chased by Narukami!~_

"T-Then who's doing this!?"

_**~that would be… me master…~**_

Looking to the side, Akira jumped slightly at the sight of Alraune face to face.

_**~This is normal, Master. My powers are just adapting to your body… in fact it should be done by now.~**_

_~then why is Kira still having a hard on right now?~_

_**~it would seem that some of my power lingers.. No matter, I shall fix this immediately.~**_

"Wait, wha-!?"

Akira squirmed lightly when he felt his pants and underwear slowly retreating away from his waist, revealing a sight that surprised Alraune; a staggering 11" phallus instrument throbbing in front of her.

A sudden wave of pleasure rose form Akira as he jolted up from his bed, nudging the covers off to reveal an arousing sight; Alraune right in between his legs, sucking hungrily at all 11 inches of the throbbing member on his person. Sucking, gagging and slurping noises filled his ears as the Spirit went to town on him.

"W-wait! Alrau-AAhh!"

For several minutes, Akira experienced extreme bliss from the way his persona went to town on him, jerking upwards when he felt his climax coming.

"Oh god! Alraune, S-stop! I'm gonna- AAAAAH!" AKira screamed as he felt his hot spooge pump out his member, filling up the persona's maw to the brim with his seed. After a full minute of this, He finally slumped down onto the bed he was on, breathing heavily.

_~um… Kira? You okay?~_

"..."

_~Kira?~_

"..."

**_~It appears I may have gone a bit… overboard with the sucking…~_**

_~eh, he'll be fine. Looks like he's calmed down too.~_

**_~hmm… then I shall take my leave. Oh and by the way…~_**

Looking to the plant spirit, Arata looked on in confusion.

**_~It seems that there are several females interested in the young master. Please see to it that he pleases all of them.~_**

* * *

**And that's all the crap I can think ago…**

**Anymore skits for me to make filler chapters of, be sure to let me know. And now to work on the last bits of the next chapter.**

**TBC**


	15. Chapter 13: Fall of Vanity

Meanwhile…

Alone in her anarchic mess of a room, Tae woke up from her bed in a sudden flinch of distress, a throbbing headache enveloping her as she breathed heavily. Stumbling down to the floor, She stumbles through into the bathroom, frantically looking through the cabinets.

**TaE…**

A sudden voice echoed through her mind, making her search more frantically.

**DoN't RuN fRoM mE… yOu KnOw YoU cAn'T gEt RiD oF mE…**

"No… nononono, where is it!?" she started saying, knocking over a few medicinal jars and bottles.

**ThErE's TrOuBlE cOmInG sOoN, aNd YoU nEeD mE… **

"Wait… the office!" Tae said, scrambling to the front area.

**ThEy WiLl NeEd HeLp, YoU kNoW tHiS…**

"Who? Who needs help?!"

… **In DuE tImE… SeArCh fOr HeArT sHaPeD cRyStAlS… tHeY wIlL sHoW yOu ThE aNsWeR…**

Arriving at her front desk, Tae pulled out a black box from the bottom cabinet, opening it to reveal a red and black tube of pills and a heart shaped gem inside. Taking the circular container, she took out two pills and downed both of them.

… **YoU'lL nEeD mE sOoN eNoUgH… i'Ll Be WaItInG…**

With that last statement, the voice faded to nothing, causing the doctor to sigh in relief. Slumping down on the chair next to her, she looked on to the gem in the box.

"Heart shaped crystals…" hesitantly, she inched closer to the gem, slowly reaching towards it, only to recoil in pain when she touched it with her finger.

Flashes and visions danced around her vision as she clutched her head, the visions became longer and clearer, until she found herself face to face…

With a little girl.

A smiling girl who looked like a fairy tale princess…

A smiling girl with a knife tainted with blood walking close-

"AAGHH!" Tae screamed, falling on the floor, looking up at the bright lights of her clinic.

"... Alice?"

* * *

***BOOOM!***

The entire group plus two evaded another blast of Maragi from the three abominations, or rather, 7 abominations consisting of five different colored Madarames, a gigantic, buff mosquito and a disproportionate succubus like spider woman.

"Everyone, we need to find a weakness!" Mona shouts out, deflecting a Garula with his scimitar.

"On it! Reaper, Arsene Synchronize!" Joker shouts out, both the persona and Phantom thief in question swirled into the ring, enveloping Joker in a black inferno, revealing the combined form of all three.

"That's quite the eye-catching trick you have there." the mystery heroine said, joker looking over to her.

_**~well then, we certainly wouldn't want them to be disappointed now, do we milady?~**_

"Point taken." a snap of her fingers drew in everyone 's attention. "Our turn." jumping high, the heroine raised her fist in the air. "Widow, Armatize!" the partner of hers in question, much to everyone's shock, swirled into the heroine much like Joker's transformation, a violet light shined through her body, transforming her instantly.

In place of her previous clothing is a cross between a skin tight violet, black and red suit and a gothic lolita style tailcoat, gigantic bat wings flapping in might on her lower abdomen, and what appeared to be a spool and needle were attached to the back of her body.

"W-What the hell!?" Skull yelled out.

"Another form change!?" Panther shouts out as well.

"Well, then.." Joker chuckled, brandishing his chained knives. "If you're going to help out, then try to keep up! Fox, Akuma, With me! Panther, Skull and Mona take Chado while Shinobi and Noir go for Ritsuka!"

"I see," Spoke the newcomer. "Then I shall also go for this Ritsuka." joining the two girls, the group split off to their respective fights.

* * *

Meanwhile… in the real world…

Another bus enters the outskirts of Shibuya, several particular individuals inside were discussing between themselves, all except for one male sitting in the back.

_**~Oi, Milo, we're here.~**_ said a tomboyish female voice. The boy in question opened one of his eyes, spotting a floating blonde figure hovering just above him.

"Really? Sweet." he whispered back at them sitting up, he faced the group in front of himself and made himself known with a cough. "Hey guys, are we there yet?"

"Yeah, kid. we're here!" Said a portly male driving the vehicle. "Welcome everyone to Shibuya, our new base of operations!"

"Weren't we here a few days ago, Meat balloon?" another male with an afro questioned. "And about time you woke up dude!"

"Yeah… sorry about that, Megakin. Just had to sleep off something for a bit."

"Well good thing you woke up when you did, we're almost at our new HQ!" a brown haired girl in pigtails added.

_**~Milo, by the way, I can feel **__**them**__** here…~**_

"Those bastards…" Milo whispered to himself.

"The what?" Megakin asked.

"Nothing, just some… past memories…"

_**~and if they're here, then Nan's most likely there, and we know Akira's somewhere around here too.~**_

"Hey guys, after we set up the HQ, you think I can explore the place? I got a few friends of mine I wanna visit."

"Oh, you have friends?" a ravenette in a school uniform asked besides him.

"Other than us?" a glasses wearing male added.

"HEY!" the whole group laughed as they approached the city, unaware of what trails behind them.

* * *

***BOOOM!***

***Clash!***

***Bang!***

Sparks, bullets, and magic flew everywhere as the entire group reunited, having dealt with both Chado and Ritsuka respectively, leaving only the four duplicate Madarames. Outnumbered, the clones attempted to escape, only for three of the four to be entirely encased in ice, courtesy of one surprisingly livid Fox. the last one, the Ice form stammered and tripped, allowing the blue haired swordsman to grab him by the collar, yanking up forcefully from the ground.

"Whoa, dude-" Skull started, stopping as Joker held him back with a hand, Reaper having regained his bearings by his side.

"Let him have this, at least for a second." the leader said, watching as Fox slammed Madarame into the other three frozen duplicates, shattering the ice imprisoning them and grouping them back into one.

"**Y-Yusuke, what has gotten into you!?" **Shadow Madarame stammered in fear.

"Is that All you have to say? You three desecrated my mother, ruined BOTH of our lives, and you have the GALL to ask that question!?" Yusuke yells, throwing Madarame into the reverted Chado and Ritsuka.

"**Don't you get it? No one cares for true art. All they wanted was easily recognizable brands! We're victims of this too, don't you agree!?"**

"**Y-Yeah, Blu-... Yusuke…. My man, why are you so serious!?"** shadow Chado added. **"Everything I did was to toughen you up, inside and out. Makes ya better for the… um… character and shit!"**

"**My darling yusuke… Why? Why won't you accept me? … I tried everything I could for you, i worshipped you.." **Shadow Ritsuka wailed. **"i just wanted you to reciprocate at least some of that love back… I didn't care what, as long as you cared… I was happy!"**

"Excuses now, really?" Skull retorted, Reaper shaking his head.

_~ the sad part is that i think Ritsuka's is the only genuine one…~_

"**The art world revolves around money, after all… you can't rise up without money."** Madarame continued."

_~Bullshit!~_

_**~I concur.~**_

"**Yusuke, you understand, don't you!? Being a poor is truly miserable!"**

"**The real world would schew your scrawny ass up and spit you out if i didn't do anything about it, Yu-Man!" **Chado chipped in

"Desperate to the point of trying out for brownie points… this is getting worse by the second." Akuma sighed, picking up one of the three treasures along with Noir and Shinobi

**I just didn't want to return to that Li-"** was all Madarame said before Fox slapped him square in the face, the shadow ruler's face hitting the concrete.

"ENOUGH!" Fox roared, grabbing Madarame's collar. "A fiend like you doesn't deserve to speak about the world of art. Nor would I forgive all the years of torment you have made me suffer through…" he said, glaring at the cowering Jockey. "You're done for… all three of you, along with this wretched world!"

At this point, Madarame was full-on sobbing **"NO! Please…. Just Don't kill me!"**

Throwing him to the ground one last time, Fox, leered at them menacingly. "Go back to reality and atone for your crimes… all of you!"

"**Y-you're not going to kill me?"**

"SWEAR IT!"

"**AAAH! Alright, I swear!"**

"**I'm Going, I'm Going!"**

"**Yusuke… we could never be… i'm sorry…"** Ristuka added in one last time.

"**W-What about the other one though!? The one with the black mask!?"**

_~what the fuck are you on about now!?~_

"Wait… don't tell me, someone else has been going through palaces!?" Mona yelped in concern. The world around them began shifting and crumbling. As the group began to leave, Madarame clung to Fox weakly…

"**Hey, Yusuke… what should I do?"** Madarame asked feebly.

"Put an end to all of this and make your own artwork for once…" was all Fox said before turning back to the group, all three shadow rulers slowly faded away the further he went.

"**Looks like Blue balls finally dropped em… good for ya…"**

"**Goodbye… my love…"**

"**No wait, please… Yusuke, YUSUKE!"**

* * *

Not too long later…

"I guess the mission was a success…" Ryuji sighed. The group had to meet up near the accessway… well the near group, Akira and Arata were off to the side having a reunion with Nanako and Molly respectively. "All that's left is to see if he had a change of heart or not…"

"To think, this painting would be the source of Madarame's desires… I have no clue about Ritsuka's and Chado's though."

_~we got them.~_ Arata said the two plus two extra joined the group. _~Chado's was a unique jewel-encrusted paintbrush, for some goddamn reason… as for Ritsuka's…~_

"We think you should have it, Yusuke…" Akira finished, handing him over a small jar. Upon closer inspection, Yusuke noticed his last name etched onto the side, and realized that it wasn't a jar; it was an Urn.

An Urn labeled Retsu Kitagawa.

"M-Mother…" Yusuke uttered weakly, nearly dropping the painting altogether as he took the urn graciously.

"It still sounded full too…"

"So her desires were made by my Mother's remains… probably to get closer to me as a result…"

"Yusuke…" Ann said, the others stood silent at the blue-haired artist, who then clutched the urn gently as if hugging an infant.

"The only saving grace would be that I get to be reunited with my mother once more…"

_~You're not alone there, bud, we all lost someone in our lives, we're here for ya.~_

"Thank you."

"Although it took some time, It's in your hands now, Yusuke. I'm sure your mom would be very proud of you…" Mishima said.

"So… this is the portrait of my mother… and the remains to which I may finally put to rest… to think that I would have the honor of having both…"

_~alright, enough of the sadness, we've had enough of that to last next week! It's time we introduced you to an old friend!~_ Arata picked up, changing the mood entirely.

"Ah right, everyone, this is my childhood friend Nanako Dojima, and the girl floating beside her is Molly." Akira introduced, both greeting the group respectively.

_**~It's been so long darling. But we're now back together again.~ **_

_~indeed it has, my love. Indeed it has.~_

as the group continued, none of them realized the lone female in the background watching them from a distance…

"Hmm…" was the only thing she said as she left the scene.

* * *

**OH GOD, IT TOOK SO LONG TO FINISH!**

**The next chapter will be filler so hopefully, it'll take less time to do…**

**TBH**


End file.
